The Windblume Festival is inching closer, and Klee can barely contain her excitement. She has her list ready of the gifts to give her loved ones, and is about to start her quest to gather them all. Amidst Klee’s preparations, she hasn't seemed to notice the odd changes in her brother's behavior.
The Windblume Festival has always been something Klee looked forward to each year. A time for spreading love and happiness; the celebration of everything that made Mondstadt the city of freedom. Every Windblume, Klee excitedly gathered gifts for everyone important to her. This year, her list of friends to give presents consisted of Razor, Kaeya, Jean, and her big brother, Albedo. As the festival's first day drew near, Klee started preparing.
For Razor, Klee looked through all her old toys that she didn't play with anymore. At the bottom of her toy chest was a hand puppet of a grey wolf, identical to how Razor’s lupical looked. The toy was originally a gift from Kaeya, but Klee assumed he wouldn't mind if she gave it to Razor. She placed the puppet in a small box and carefully wrapped it. Looking at the finished product, Klee clapped her hands in excitement at how well it turned out.
Next, Klee traveled outside the walls of Mondstadt. She knew people called Jean the Dandelion Knight, so what better gift to give her than a bouquet of dandelions? After the struggle of having countless dandelions blow away, Klee was able to gather a large bunch of them for Jean. She slowly walked home, being cautious not to lose any more flowers in the wind. In her bedroom, Klee tried her best to tie a bow around the stems, which ended up being a large cluster of knots instead. An entire spool of lace later, Jean’s present was complete.
After counting the mora she had earned from doing chores around the Knight's Headquarters, Klee ran to Angel’s Share. She burst through the door and threw her small bag of mora onto the bar. The bartender was startled by the presence of such a young child in the tavern and didn't even have a second to process his thoughts before having them interrupted. “One bottle of grape juice, please!” Klee yelled, startling a few of the men sitting in the tavern.
Klee knew how much Kaeya liked wine, so she decided to go for the next best thing, grape juice! Anyone who likes wine must love grape juice too, right? The bartender stared at Klee for a few moments before shaking his head and turning around to grab the bottle. “So, kid,” the bartender began, “this a Windblume gift?”
“Yeah!” Klee exclaimed. “It's gonna be for one of my bestest friends, Kaeya!”
A chuckle came from the bartender while he handed the bottle to her. “Well then, I hope you and all your loved ones have a wonderful Windblume,” he said.
Klee thanked the bartender as she ran out of the tavern at the same speed she had entered it. On her way back to the Knight’s Headquarters, Klee stopped by the alchemist's workshop. At the workshop, Sucrose was working intensively over an alchemy bench. “Hi Sucrose!!” Klee yelled.
Sucrose was so startled by the unexpected greeting that she almost dropped both of the test tubes in her hands. “O- Oh, Klee!” Sucrose stuttered. “He- Hello! What brings you here?”
Klee placed her hands on the alchemy bench and pulled herself up a bit to get a better look at Sucrose. “I was just wondering if you knew where Albedo is,” she asked, “Klee feels like she hasn't seen him for forever!”
Sucrose was a bit caught off guard by Klee’s question. Recently, she had been asking herself the same thing: “Where has Albedo gone?” Today marked exactly a week since anyone had seen him last. It wasn't like Albedo to disappear with no warning. If he was going to be staying at his laboratory in Dragonspine for a long time, Albedo always informed the Knights of Favonius before leaving.
“I- Uh- Um-” Sucrose stammered, trying to figure out if she should tell Klee the truth.
“I… haven't seen him yet today!” she blurted. “If I had to guess, he must be busy- Um- Preparing for the Windblume Festival!”
“Oh, okay!” Klee said with a smile. “Bye-bye Sucrose!”
Sucrose watched as Klee happily skipped away. Once Klee was gone, she let out a large sigh and got back to her work. “Oh Mr. Albedo,” Sucrose thought, “what are you up to now?”
Later that night, Klee sorted through all of the gifts she had gathered so far as she waited for Albedo. Today was Klee’s favorite day of the week; the one night Albedo was able to tell her a bedtime story and tuck her into bed. Her brother’s stories were always the best. He told fascinating tales that mesmerized Klee every time she heard them. No matter how much Albedo retold the same stories, she loved them every time.
While grabbing Jean’s bouquet, she was shocked to find all of the dandelion puffs were gone. The only thing that remained were stems tied with a knot of lace. Klee couldn't believe it; she had been so careful, and now all of her hard work was gone just like that. As tears began to form in Klee’s eyes, she heard a gentle knock on her bedroom door. The door slowly creaked open, and Albedo entered. Klee instantly ran over to her brother and buried her head in his stomach. “Albedo!” she exclaimed, “My perfect gift for Master Jean is ruined!”
Albedo silently bent down and wrapped his arms around Klee to pick her up. “Everything will be alright,” he said softly, “you have plenty of time to get Jean another gift.”
“But- But-,” Klee mumbled, “Klee already picked all of the dandelions in Mondstadt!”
Klee cried into Albedo’s shoulder for a few moments before he slowly began to put her down. “I may have an idea,” Albedo said as he crouched down to Klee’s eye level. “How about you and I take a little walk, hmm?”
Klee’s eyes lit up with excitement, and her tears immediately went away. She was never allowed to stay up past her bedtime. “Really?!” Klee asked as she jumped up and down.
“Really,” Albedo answered, “but you have to promise me you’ll go right to bed when we get back.”
After a short hike, the siblings arrived at Starsnatch Cliff. Albedo brought Klee over to a single white Cecilia flower and gently plucked it out of the ground. “These are Jean’s favorites,” Albedo said as he handed it to Klee. “Why don't you go gather some for her?”
He watched from afar while Klee ran around and tore Cecilias out of the ground. A cold breeze blew through the air as Albedo looked up into the sky. Tonight, the sky was completely clear, letting the glistening stars and the full moon light up the world around him. For some odd reason, nights like these always reminded Albedo of his mother. It had been years since he had seen her last, and Albedo couldn't help but wonder where she had gone. His mother's sudden departure affected him in a way he still can't quite describe, although most people would call it grief. As Albedo got lost in the starry abyss above him, the final words of his mother echoed through his head: “Show me the truth and meaning of this world.”
“Albedo!!” Klee yelled, snapping him out of his trance. “I said I’m all done!”
Klee stood right in front of Albedo with a large smile on her face, her little hands full of flowers. “Aren't they pretty?” she asked, holding the bouquet up as high as she could.
“Ah, of course,” Albedo replied as he rubbed his forehead. “They're beautiful, Klee.”
He glanced at the sky one last time and realized how late it had gotten; far too late for Klee to still be awake. “I’m afraid it’s time for us to head home Klee,” Albedo said.
“Awwww…okay…” Klee responded.
Underneath the moonlit sky, Albedo and Klee began to make their way back to Mondstadt.
Albedo silently entered Klee’s bedroom, trying his best not to wake the sleeping child on his back. He placed the bouquet of Cecilias into an empty vase, which caused Klee’s eyes to flutter open. “Are we there yet?” she yawned.
“We are indeed,” Albedo said as he set Klee down onto her bed, “and I believe it's someone's bedtime.”
“No!” she pleaded. “This is Albedo and Klee’s special time, you have to tell Klee a story!”
“Now Klee-”
“Pleeaaasseeee!!”
Albedo shook his head as he turned to grab a chair. “Alright, I suppose we can do one story,” he sighed. “What would you like to hear tonight?”
“I want my favorite!” Klee blurted without taking a moment to think. “The one about the prince and the knight!”
Albedo nodded, and began reciting the tale of the royal prince and his brave young knight. The two heroes had set out on an adventure to destroy the evil dragon that was terrorizing their village. Along the way, they faced dangerous challenges, but always survived because they had each other to rely on. At the end of their quest, the prince and his knight successfully slayed the dragon, bringing peace to their village forever.
By the time he was done telling the story, Klee was seemingly sound asleep. When Albedo stood up, she opened her eyes to look at him. “I love you, Albedo,” Klee said quietly. “You're the bestest storyteller ever.”
A gentle smile formed on Albedo’s face as he tucked Klee in. “Oh my,” he replied, “that's quite the compliment.”
Klee giggled; a simple sound that always brought Albedo joy. “I love you too, Klee,” Albedo said softly while he brushed his fingers through her hair.
As Klee’s eyes slowly closed again and she drifted off to sleep, Albedo’s smile began to fade.
Ever since he arrived in Mondstadt, Albedo had been tasked with looking after the young girl. “We’ll be a family from now on, treat her like a real sister!” Klee’s mother had told him.
At first, Albedo didn't care for relationships and ignored her mother's request; all he wanted was to work towards achieving his goal. He made no effort to form connections with the Knights of Favonius, ignoring all of their attempts to get to know him. When Klee’s mother embarked on a grand adventure, Albedo was left as her sole caretaker. As time went on and his “sister” began finding herself in all sorts of predicaments, Albedo had to start constantly taking responsibility for her actions. After one particularly hard day and an explosive accident, Albedo found himself quite irritated with Klee. This child had been taking up too much of his time, and he was growing tired of her antics. He didn't say a word as he walked her to solitary confinement. “Mr. Albedo,” a shaky voice said, “are you mad at Klee?”
Looking down at her, he saw large tears begin to roll down Klee’s face. “Kl- Klee is sorry!” she cried. “I promise I won't do it again! Promise!”
Albedo sighed and crouched down in front of Klee. “No, I’m not mad at all,” he said while wiping away her tears, “you just have to be more careful.”
Albedo thought nothing of these words, as he was simply explaining the situation. Klee sniffled and smiled at Albedo, which caught him off guard. She was just crying, so why is she now happy? Though he had been living among humans for some time now, their way of expressing emotions was still strange to him. “Thank you, Mr. Albedo!” Klee said cheerfully, “Thank you for always being so nice and patient with me!”
This interaction took Albedo by surprise. He had never thought of himself as a caring person. But now, someone was thanking him for his kindness. Although he was confused, Albedo had a strange feeling in his chest; strange, but…happy?
“Of course, Klee,” he said as he took her small hand in his. “Now, I’m afraid you have somewhere to be.”
Klee’s expression quickly turned into a large frown. “Oh, right…” she mumbled.
Ever since that night, Albedo found himself growing a soft spot for Klee. Although she was in no way honest to her word and kept getting into trouble, Albedo and Klee began seeing each other as real family. As the two of them grew closer, Klee became Albedo’s gateway to forming bonds with his fellow Knights. He established meaningful friendships with all of them, all thanks to Klee. Today, Klee was Albedo’s pride and joy; his baby sister. He would do anything to protect her, no matter what it takes.
After being lost in thought for a while, Albedo was brought back to reality by the sound of Klee’s snores. In the time he had been distracted, she had already sprawled out on her bed and kicked all the blankets onto the floor. Albedo let out a small laugh as he fixed Klee’s bedding. After tucking her in once more, Albedo placed his hand on Klee’s head and gently kissed her forehead.
“I will always love you, Klee,” he whispered.
Albedo blew out the candle illuminating Klee’s room, and took his leave.
After leaving Klee’s room, Albedo began making his way out of the Knights of Favonius headquarters. When he reached the main door, Albedo fell to the ground, almost as if he were in some sort of pain. He grabbed the door’s handle and used all of his strength to slowly pull himself up. Once Albedo was on his feet again, he heard the sound of footsteps gradually get louder behind him. Down the stairs came Sucrose, who jumped at the sight of her teacher. “M- Mr. Albedo!” Sucrose stammered as she ran up to him.
“Mr. Albedo, where were you?!” she asked frantically. “You’ve been gone for days, it's unlike you to disappear without telling anyone!”
Albedo turned his head to glare at Sucrose, a look she had never seen him give anyone. “My recent whereabouts are none of your concern, Sucrose,” he answered sternly. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work that needs to be done.”
“B- But it's so late…” Sucrose mumbled as she nervously glanced at the floor.
By the time she looked back up, Albedo had already vanished. Sucrose had never heard Albedo speak so harshly. He was always so kind to everyone, especially his fellow Knights. There was something about Albedo’s body language that unsettled Sucrose as well. He was ever so slightly hunched over, and his breathing seemed to be heavy. And his eyes; they disturbed Sucrose in a way she couldn't quite describe.
This demeanor was so out of the ordinary for Albedo, it was almost…frightening.
