Chapter Text
The Kingdom of Khaenri’ah had once been thriving and full of immeasurable riches. Built on fertile land and ruled by brilliant, yet at the same time a kind Crown, its people lived fulfilling and satisfied lives where they didn’t have to worry about the day of tomorrow.
For the Kingdom would provide food and shelter for those in need until they could get back on their own two feet.
It was a dangerous game the royal family was playing, a game that would eventually make them reap what they sow, yet their kindness blinded them.
They used a system the Queen of the Nation came up with, her citizens in her mind– part of the tribute the citizens would pay to the kingdom would go into the aid for the people in need. It was an act of altruism and kindness seldom seen at royal families.
A type of selflessness the world was not used to.
At peace, the system worked splendidly.
Yet peace had always been a feeble status quo, no matter how prosperous said peace had been. Greediness always won the internal battle of beings that had been granted intelligence.
At war? War was inevitable, when a Nation proved itself more prosperous than the others.
And so, Celestia struck.
At first, the Nation of Khaenri’ah fought bravely for its freedom. Their army was well prepared, for no matter how kind and selfless its rulers were and no matter how many hours they spend thinking up ways to uplift their nation , they spend just as many if not more with their noses buried into history tomes and older strategies.
At first, the war didn’t make its presence known in the capital of the Nation, yet the war was one of endurance and Khaenri’ah itself was a small nation compared to its opponent.
A small nation with finite resources.
Yet despite having all the odds raised against it, Khaenri’ah came out victorious in the last battle, prompting Celestia’s forces to withdraw. A victory the royal family took as a sign of better times soon to come.
A victory that fooled them, lulled them into a sense of relief that eventually led them to their doom.
The monarchs of Khaenri’ah were prepared for the worst, armed with their knowledge, their intuition and last but not least, the experience they had gained after years of relentless ruling. Yet nothing could prepare them for the new tactic their enemy took against them.
Indeed, they were prepared to hold their ground against an enemy larger than the world itself. However, they were not ready for the rest of the world to abandon them.
It started in small actions, like the nation of Sumeru, which was still an ally of Khaenri’ah, refusing to do business with their merchants. Another Nation that was supposed to be their ally asked for some prices that had been unheard of since then. The Land of Contracts denied them safe passage.
Soon, the whole world turned its back to their Nation, despite the monarchs’ heated negotiation. Their cries had not been heard while Celestia watched from above in glee.
However unbeknownst to the King and Queen of Khaenri’ah, who in their desolation thought their Nation hit rock bottom, the worst had yet to come. For no act of kindness would be left unrewarded.
Perhaps their humanity truly blinded them, for the Queen had fervently argued for the System to be kept running no matter what. They could cut from other departments, she argued with the royal advisors. Maybe raise the taxes on the wealthier citizens.
A gravé mistake that she was well aware of, but desperate times asked for desperate measures. With Teyvat rejecting them, their resources were finite, but the kingdom had to provide. And so, the Kingdom provided.
And the people took.
It was just a matter of time.
Princess Lumine clutched her fairy tales book closer to her chest from her uncomfortable position. She was hiding under the tall bed of her brother's room, her dear twin brother glued to the floor in utter horror, right next to her. Golden eyes almost identical to hers focused as he listened in on the noise outside.
The King and the Queen were the first to fall. And with them, everything went to ruin.
Lumine and Aether, the royal pair of twins and the next in line for the throne watched it unfold in front of their teary, golden eyes. The Black Serpents, the formal royal guards and people they once trusted with their life and safety held them in unmovable grips, the warriors’ strength leaving bruises on the twins’ fair skin as they forced the prince and princess to watch their parents’ execution.
Each pair of familiar feet that dangled like a limp, lifeless rag imprinted on Lumine’s retinae.
Her brother’s broken wailing reverberating in her ears even now.
“Leave that stupid book…!” Aether whispered through gritted teeth, his head bent just enough to allow him to look out for shadows looming in front of the door.
“It will give us away…!!!”
Lumine clutched the book even closer to her chest, her eyes welling up with tears she wouldn’t allow herself to spill, not after she screamed and cried her heart out at her parents’ execution.
And here she thought she had no more tears to give…
“I can’t get out and put it back now!” She whimpered, her voice but a whisper. “I’ll hold it up with me!”
Her brother shot her a glare. There was worry in it too, in the golden rings of his irises but it was too choked out by unaddressed anger and grief for her to notice it now. And the light was poor.
Poorer than their fate.
“It will weigh you down…!” He scolded her, instinctually taking the place of the big brother despite them being twins. “Just… Just get rid of it!”
“No!” Lumine shook her head. “It’s coming with me!”
Aether groaned, throwing his head back. “I can’t believe you took that thing from the shelf in the first place when we–”
Movement in front of the door obstructed the orange light of the torch in front of it. Then someone pushed down on the knob.
The twins grabbed a hold of the wooden skeleton of the bed and lifted themselves off the floor in their arms in spotless synchrony.
The Prince and Princess of the Nation, once reveled and adored by the citizens, held in high regard as if they were not part of Teyvat, were now hiding behind lint and dried mud that tickled their nose until it stung, trying to blend with the wooden planks below the mattress of Lumine’s bed, hoping to turn into dust and disappear before the door of the room could open.
Back then, they were about to join their parents. The bloodthirsty crowd chanting their sentences as their former guards pushed them towards the noose prepared for them.
Shorter than their parents’ as the twins had just turned eighteen amidst the cinders of war.
And they would have added two more pairs of legs to the macabre family portrait that was the royal family's execution, had it not been for Dainsleif's intervention.
As they were dragged towards the noose, the twins’ most loyal knight suddenly let go of Aether’s arm and in the next second pounced on Chlothar, sword at the ready to strike him down. The older man let go of Lumine.
Next thing she knew, she was running down the corridors of their palace, Aether’s hand nearly crushing her wrist, dragging her after him as they left behind the grand hall filled with bloody screams and clash of metal against metal.
As they left their only ally behind.
The leather bound book rested on Lumine’s stomach, her muscle stiff, her breath held as she struggled to keep herself up.
Just like they did every time the three of them would play hide and seek.
Her, Aether and–
Suddenly the people in the room with them heaved. The wood worn out by time creaked under the force of the men above them, giving way to their numbers. The twins' hearts leaped at their throats.
With horror riddled golden eyes, Lumine and Aether stared at each other as their bodies were lifted up together with the wooden framework. And surrounded by the knights that held the bed up, Dainsleif stared back at them, his good eye devoid of any life.
They didn’t have time to react. Arms yanked the two teenagers off the wooden planks despite their desperate grip and fervent struggle.
The old wood gave way. Splinters got under her skin, making the princess scream in pain. She kicked her feet, she flailed her arms in the air as did her brother. Screaming and kicking– all for naught.
The armored knights carried the prince and princess into the hall against their will. They were using more strength on her brother, Lumine realised as the knight holding her captive forced her to walk. His grip threatened to break her bones, yet the man was unfazed by her screams of pain.
They threw her down the stairs, her body a limp rag in their hands. The princess was small of height; her legs couldn’t keep up with the knights’ tall figures.
As they got closer to the grand hall, her screams turned into desperate pleas. The mere thought of seeing her parents’ bodies dangling off the rope again making her pride fly out of the window.
Her desperate pleas fell on deaf ears, the knight shoving the small princess down the hall without much problem. All Lumine could do was watch as her own feet carried her to her own execution, the cold stone floor below her feet passing her eyes no matter how much she planted the soles of her feet down with all her might.
It was too much for her to bear, the helplessness breaking whatever fighting spirit she had left after her little world crumbled beneath her. Hot tears poured out of her desolated golden eyes as she kept pleading and wailing. Even if she knew it would not change anything.
“Listen here you poor excuse of a human being– !!!” Aether’s voice boomed through the hallway. “Put me down or else–” He kept struggling. “You godless heathen I will have your organs pulled out in alphabetical order then hanged out to dry and fed to the sewer rats!!!”
Her twin brother seemed to not have lost his fighting spirit yet, as he was still fighting to break free out of the hands of the royal knights, yelling profanities and threats that would have made the men freeze in terror a few months ago.
Lumine’s eyes widened when the knight actually let go of her brother. For a second, Aether’s golden eyes mirrored hers, the prince equally shocked that he was listened to for once since hell descended upon them.
Then a loud slap echoed into the hall.
Lumine let out an ear piercing scream as her brother’s body flew into the wall behind him. Without paying any mind to the distressed princess, the knight walked towards her fallen brother.
Grabbing a fistful of Aether’s now disheveled hair, he yanked the prince up to his eye level.
“Quit your groundless yapping, Your Highness!” The knight said in a mocking tone. “We all know you can’t do shit– neither you and nor those good for nothing parents of yours!”
There was malice in his voice and Lumine couldn’t comprehend where it was coming from. Her parents have always been mindful of the common folk and the nobility alike. Just what prompted these men and women to hate them with such a burning passion…?
The knight pulled Aether’s face closer to his and Lumine could see his brown eyes studying her brother’s with great interest.
“What pretty golden eyes you have, Your Highness!” His gaze flew up to Aether’s locks. “And such pretty golden hair too!”
There was a feverish look in the knight's eyes as he talked. Grinning at his words, his fervent gaze shot to Lumine. The princess flinched.
“Your sister might not have much, but you, Your Highness, you have plenty– I say let's spin it into golden thread!!!”
Lumine’s eyes widened.
Gold fever. Their people had gold fever. She wanted to cry–
They thought the royal family was made out of gold…! And much to her chagrin, Lumine knew the reason all too well. There had been a rumor that started circulating a few months before the war started. A rumor that ought to mystify the royal family– that the King’s and Queen’s beautiful golden locks and irises were made out of real, pure gold. And that the blessing stretched out to their children too.
A rumor her mother chuckled at when she first heard it.
A rumor no one paid attention to when things were good– because they had no reason to.
Now, however, they had all the reasons…
“And your eyes!!! Maybe we should pull them out and take the gold from them for ourselves! Both of you, golden Prince and Princess!” The knight exclaimed, his free hand reaching for the long, simple dagger strapped to his hip.
Lumine’s breath hitched in her lungs. Terrified, she watched as the long blade inched closer to her brother’s face, his golden eyes mirroring her horror as he too, watched the blade closing in.
When the silver blade reflected in Aether's wide golden eyes, Lumine snapped.
“NO– Stop!!! I– I’ll spin the golden thread for you!!! Out of hay– Out of yarn– Out of thin air!!!”
Lumine screamed the first lie that made sense in her mind– her voice cracking at the effort. Her mind not registering what she was saying anymore.
A lie she made up on the spot, its credibility hanging by what the knight had just said he would do with Aether’s hair– spin it into real threads of gold.
They bought it.
So much so, they changed their plans for the royal twins:
The knights locked her up in the room they had just snatched her and her brother out by force. The door closed behind her right after they threw her inside.
A few minutes passed and it opened again. This time the knights were carrying a spinning wheel.
Then they gave her a task:
“Spin gold out of this air or she would be spinning it out of her brother’s hair. Then out of the speck in his eyes.”
The moment the old wooden door closed with a loud thud for the last time, Lumine started weeping uncontrollably.
Inconsolable– as she hugged the old fairy tale book she found next to the broken bed the knights flipped back up for her.
For how could she spin gold out of thin air when she was just a mere human girl who had the ill omen of being born into a royal family with golden eyes and hair?!
There wasn’t any gold in their bodies– of that she was sure.
And there wasn’t any gold in the air surrounding her in the room either.
And so, the once proud Princess Lumine crawled up on the dusty bed, the leather bound book held tightly to her chest. Her mind wavering to when she was just a child. When her world hadn't crumbled down yet. When her mother was still alive and her brother’s life wasn’t hanging on a task she couldn’t possibly fulfill.
She was not a child, not anymore. Yet now she felt as helpless as one.
Now she needed someone to protect her.
And so Lumine cried herself to sleep like a little girl, wishing the hero of her favorite fairy tale would come and save her from the nightmare she found herself in.
Something poked her cheek until she woke up. The princess squeezed her eyes shut. Her eyelids were puffy and sore, her eyes dry from all the crying she did last night. She clutched the leather book closer to her chest, recalling how she cried herself to sleep, weeping for both her dear parents and the miserable fate that fell upon her and her brother's heads.
The tragedy that befell her family seemingly unannounced when in reality, the signs were there; they were just blind to see them...
She didn't want to wake up, yet the sharp thing poking her cheek to the point it started to sting had other plans for her.
With a groan of complaint, Lumine opened her dry, puffy eyes.
And she was greeted with a Cheshire grin.
Screaming, she threw herself back, as far away as she could from the set of sharp, pearly white teeth glistening deep red in the morning light in front of her eyes.
In the next second, she was on the floor, groaning in pain from the fall. Her feet thrown up in the air, her night dress hiking her thighs– a laughable position not befitted at all for the princess she was. Blushing, Lumine hurried to cover herself properly.
Suddenly, the dimly lit room was filled with laughter. Lumine's eyes widened in shock as realisation hit her– this stranger was laughing. At her...!!!
"My my, you have such a peculiar way to start the day, Your Highness!" A low, yet somehow oddly warm voice accompanied the crystalline laughter that followed, prompting Lumine to scramble back to her feet, her cheeks burning in embarrassment as she eyed the creature now perched comfortably on her bed.
And a creature he was. For despite the tall, scrawny looking figure that barely fit the commoner clothes he wore, he couldn't fool anyone as to what he really was. The worn out black linen shirt untied at the chest matched his unruly, deep copper hair in which the red light of the dawn reflected. His pale complexion was dusted with freckles that ran all over his cheeks, from the bridge of his nose to the tips of his pointy ears.
Pointy, long ears that perked up as he snickered in mockery.
Brilliant, blue eyes rimmed with deep red that bleed into his golden sclera glimmered with matching amusement, the corners of his eyes creasing as he grinned.
Sharp, white teeth and even shaper, dark purple claws tapping his bent knee as he studied her flustered figure from head to toes.
Lumine didn't understand why he even bothered to dress as humans do, he couldn't fool anyone with those features, let alone a highly educated princess such as herself. She knew exactly what he was–
An imp!
Straightening her back, suddenly invigorated by this new realisation, Lumine threw the stranger a dignified look fit for the future queen she was supposed to be.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice even and as neutral as possible. The princess was doing her best to not show just how afraid she truly was.
Her question prompted the imp's grin to broaden and when he answered it, she saw just how sharp his teeth truly were.
"Why, I'm flattered you're asking, Your Grace!" The imp cheered, flicking his tail in delight akin to a cat– another little detail that gave away his nature. "For I might just be your salvation."
"My salvation...?" Lumine uttered in disbelief. Who was this little imp thinking he was fooling? Unlike the commoners that locked her up, Lumine was knowledgeable enough to know an imp would never bring good news. If it sounded too good to be true, it probably was.
The stranger hopped off her bed with a small whomp sound, the sarcastic smirk never leaving his lips.
Lumine took a step back. Now that he was standing upright she could see that he was taller than she thought him to be. The dark grey boots he was wearing may have been making him taller, yet Lumine was sure that even without them the stranger would be towering over her without a problem.
"Yes, your salvation, Princess." He then pointed a clawed finger, making her eyes follow his index to the locked door of her room. "From the looks of it, you're quite in a tough spot there." He took a step towards her as he said that.
Lumine quickly took a step back.
"The people rioted against the royal family..." He trailed off as his gaze lingered on the door, for dramatic effect. She flinched when he sighed. "Tale as old as time..."
He shook his head in fake regret. Then his attention was back on her, blue eyes taking in her cautious expression with amusement.
"So–"
Long claws tapped the nightstand next to her bed as he walked slowly towards her, his cat-like steps matching the slit pupils of his eyes. With each step forward he took, Lumine took one backwards, her arms stretched back for when she would inevitably hit the wall behind her.
She was trapped.
Even before she felt the cold stone wall press against her back, her hands coming in front of her to keep the advancing fae from cornering her completely.
One last step from him and she had nowhere else to go. Not that she had before in the first place, as the door was locked and her previous startled scream didn't seem to worry the guards enough for them to check on her. Maybe if she were to scream a little louder–
"–perhaps I could help you out of this stuffy room..."
Lumine's ears perked up and out of a sudden, all her attention was on the stranger in front of her.
"...For a fair price, of course." The imp finished his sentence with a toothy grin.
And so hope left her just easily as it took over her.
Lumine's shoulders dropped. "Then forget it. I have nothing to give you, imp."
He didn't seem thrown off by her vehement rejection of his services. However, this imp must have had a knack for theater because in the next second his unimpressed expression was switched for one of petulance.
"But, Your Highness, you're too quick to jump to conclusions..." He placed a hand on his chest, pouting his lower lip dramatically. "I didn't even get to name my price..."
"Fine." Lumine sighed. "What's your price then?"
Knowing the stories about his kind, it was probably going to be her first bo–"
"Your first kiss."
" What ?!" Lumine screeched out loud, her voice high-pitched as she pushed herself harder against the wall in a pathetic attempt to get as far away from the creature in front of her as possible.
The imp stared at her with wide eyes, his slit pupils narrowing in surprise and it's the first time since they met that Lumine realised– their blue was devoid of light. It was easier to notice now, not only because she could feel his cold breath on her cheek, but also because they were closer to the window now. And the light of dawn was not reflecting in his eyes at all.
"Easy now, dearie..." The imp uttered as he stuck a claw inside one of his ears. "If you scream like that we might just go deaf..." To strengthen his point, he winced in fake pain as he twisted his finger inside. "Ugh, such a loud one Your Grace is..."
"I am not giving you my first kiss!!!" Lumine cried out in anger, golden eyes trying to burn the creature with merely her gaze alone. "That's inadmissible! Fo– for a princess to kiss an imp for a few strands of gold... No way!!! Over my dead body!!!"
The imp's eyes widened. Lumine couldn't understand how eyes that did not reflect light could twinkle the way his did at her words. It sent shivers down her spine and she involuntarily shuddered.
"So this is what the commoners expect of you!"
Lumine thought his grin couldn't get bigger.
At least he doesn't know how... She thought, her gaze unconsciously flickering to the spinning wheel in the corner of the room.
He immediately followed her.
Apparently it could get bigger– as she soon found out, the set of pearly white teeth flashing in front of her horrified eyes right before he wheeled himself backwards. His golden gaze fell straight down to the wheel.
"I see!" He cheered, his tail flickering in excitement as he walked towards the instrument.
Lumine remained glued to the wall.
"This is why you thought I'm bargaining only a few strands of gold!" He shook his head, eyes closed and a stupid smirk curling his lips now. "I see, I see. Indeed a thing as precious as a first kiss isn't worth just a few strands of gold thread..."
He turned his head, dull blue eyes shooting towards her with an intensity that made Lumine's breath hitch in her lungs. And as she was caught under his stare, he uttered, long, pointy fingers stroking his chin in mocked thought.
"But how about a room full of bobbins?"
She pointed her finger up in the air. "All the way up to the ceiling?"
The imp closed his eyes at her question and despite the ever present smirk on his face, Lumine's heart churned at the thought of him changing his mind. Then he opened them slowly and just as slowly tilted his head in answer.
"All the way up to the ceiling."
Hope glimmered in her golden eyes as she tried to visualise the room they were in full of gold bobbins. That... was a lot of gold. So much so that there was a chance it could help set her and her brother free. Their people could melt the bobbins into ingots with which the royal twins could try and bargain a commerce deal with one of their old allies. If they had at least a quarter of the quantity that was in the royal vault when her parents marched to war against Celestia then, using both of her wits and Aether's brilliant negotiation skills, they had a chance.
Lumine's eyes flickered from the wheel to the imp, her heartbeat quickening the more she did the mental math.
It was a chance.
A glimmer of hope that made the room spin around her.
What's a first kiss compared to regaining a kingdom back...?
A voice echoed in the depths of her mind and suddenly Lumine wasn't so sure her kissing an imp would only happen over her dead body...
She pursed her lips.
"So, just a k-kiss...?" She asked, her voice small.
She stuttered despite trying her best not to and she hated it. Warmth crept up her cheeks in embarrassment at her own mistake, making her feel weird.
Yet despite the awkward feeling gnawing at her mind, she raised her eyes and met his, molten gold irises crashing against his ocean blue ones. The imp chuckled, his eyes creasing as leaned towards her. His long tail flicking behind him slowly, like a content cat.
The princess didn't like his smile, there was a certain smugness to it that made her feel like the imp knew something she didn't. It made the hair on her back stand on its end.
"Yes, Your Highness." The imp whispered back. He was now so close, his warm breath hit her cheek. "All I ask for is your first kiss and then I will hold my end of the bargain."
Lumine gulped. Her heart was beating erratically now making it hard for her to concentrate.
"Very well." She uttered in the end, then quickly stuck her index finger up in the air, nearly jabbing the smiling imp in front of her right in the nose. "You will have my first kiss. And my first kiss only– those are my terms for this bargain!"
Her declaration must have taken him by surprise, because his eyes widened and his long pointy ears lowered down as he looked at her finger.
Good. She knew he was planning to trick her somehow. Now that she made the bargain clearer, his nature should restrain him to the terms of what they both agreed upon.
"Before we begin..." The imp uttered, his golden gaze stuck on her finger. "Are you aware you have splinters in your fingers, Princess?"
Her eyes widened and she quickly retracted her finger back, pulling her hand closer to her chest and away from his watchful gaze. Yes, she was aware but she was trying her best to ignore them. The pain wouldn't let her though, but she wanted to forget.
To her surprise, the imp extended his hand forward.
“May I…?”
The princess eyed him with suspicion in her golden eyes, yet the imp held her gaze despite it. Dull blue eyes warm and patient; he didn’t expect her to trust him right off the bat.
But what do you have to lose…?
Another annoying voice reverberated in the back of her mind and as much as Lumine wanted to wish it away, the logic was sound.
What did she have to lose by giving him her hand when the terms of the bargain had already been set…?
Hesitant, the Princess placed her hand in his grip. Dark purple claws wrapped around her delicate fingers immediately, making her heart skip a beat. Then he waved his free hand and a small needle materialised in between his fingers.
Lumine gulped as she watched the needle’s slow descent towards her hand. Despite her fear, her mistrust, she couldn’t bring herself to pull her hand away.
One by one, the imp dug out the splinters from beneath her flesh. It hurt and it forced the Princess to bite her lower lip in a poor attempt to not cry out in pain.
However she yelped when he brought her wounded finger up to his mouth and lapped up the blood that came out of her wound. Heat rushed to Lumine’s cheeks as she watched the pink appendage picking up the small droplets of blood off her fair skin. It was warm to the touch, almost burning her skin and that little detail didn’t help with the warmth that took over her entire being.
It didn’t stop the imp however as he picked another wounded finger and ran his tongue languidly against it.
Lumine’s heart skipped another beat.
Then he raised another finger and repeated the motion, unbothered by her flustered reaction.
To her surprise, the more he licked her wounds, the more the pain and sting beneath her flesh went away.
To her surprise, when the imp let go of her hand and motioned for her other hand, she gave it to him. Whimpering softly as he carefully picked out the splinters with his needle then licked each wound.
Making the pain go away…
Making her cheeks grow redder as warmth washed over her entire being…
“There” the imp uttered then ran his tongue over his lips “all good now…”
Lumine peered up at him through half lidded eyes, her heart drumming in her ears, a soft tempo that made the whole situation feel… warmer.
When he let go of her hand, it fell limply on the side of her body. Lumine leaned harder against the wall, her damp fingers brushing against the cold, hard stone pressing into her as she tried her best to gather her mind.
She should be disgusted; her fingers were covered in an imp’s saliva… Why wasn’t she disgusted again…?
“Just a kiss…” She murmured when the imp closed whatever distance was left between them. And despite her dazed stance, she tried her best to hold his gaze properly.
The imp smirked down at her as he lowered his head towards her tilted up face.
“Of course, Your Highness…” He whispered, his warm breath brushing against her parted lips.
Lumine’s heart skipped a treacherous beat when his clawed fingers cupped her cheeks. His touch pleasantly cool against her heated skin as he tilted her head the way he wanted her put.
As much as she knew she shouldn’t, Lumine closed her eyes when their lips met. Her heart singing a treasonous song, caught in between her ribcage as it was.
To her surprise, his lips were warm.
Pleasant against hers as he brushed them lazily as if taking his time while he unraveled her for himself.
They were soft too– soft flesh not fully pressed against her plump ones, yet rubbing against it in a tempo that made her want to dance the way he sang.
The way her heart sang.
Lumine peeled her eyes open just enough to peer up at the imp. She wanted to see his expression, suddenly curious what kind of face would an imp make while kissing a princess.
She quickly realised she shouldn’t have, if the electrifying wave of warmth that rushed through her when her flickering golden dissolved into his bottomless blue was any indicator.
It was then that Lumine tried to pull away– the rational side of her jolted awake now. Telling her she kept her end of the bargain and she was letting him take it too far.
It was then that she realised his hand was now tangled into her silky locks, claws pressing into the back of her head as he held her in place. Telling her he wasn’t done yet, without any words at all.
Her heart started beating erratically in her chest, the tempo it sang a mess now–
Her lips parted to voice out her complaint; a big mistake she came to regret the next instant.
His tongue slithered its way inside her mouth, past her parted lips. The tip of his tongue licked the protests off hers, making her moan in surprise. His claws grazed against her scalp, pushing her lips further apart as she purred in his mouth.
Under the imp’s intense gaze, the princess closed her eyes, her senses too overwhelmed by the warmth crashing against her insides in waves for her to resist him anymore.
Damp fingers grabbing onto his wrist in a feeble attempt to ground herself as the imp’s tongue ravaged her defenseless mouth.
And the princess let him. Her moans echoing against his tongue as she gave herself to the fae’s whim.
He was the one to end the kiss. It took her by surprise, her mind not ready to not feel his lips on hers anymore and when he pulled away, Lumine leaned right back in. Chasing the sweetness she had just tasted.
Her greediness earned her a guttural chuckle for the trickster, his claws digging harder in her flesh to hold her in place properly.
A silent reminder that he was dictating the terms and not her.
“You held your end of the bargain, dearie…” The imp uttered, his golden gaze still stuck on her lips. “Now it’s my turn to honor mine…”
And yet despite his words, he didn’t seem to have any intention of moving away from her. Dull blue eyes still stuck on her parted lips, damp and swollen from the kiss they’ve just shared.
For a second, Lumine thought he would dive back in and kiss her again. To her horror, for a second, she wished he would, her entire body trembling in anticipation at just the mere thought.
And in the next second, she nearly pouted that he didn’t.
When the imp pulled away from her, a whimper escaped her lips instead. The cold air of the room hitting her in waves now that his body wasn’t sheltering hers from the wind anymore.
Since when were imps so… warm?
Lumine’s eyes widened and suddenly she felt as if she was in a free fall. She had held her end of the bargain– Bargain she made with an imp–
“Imp!!!” Lumine called out, her voice cracking as panic took over her. “Tell me your name, imp!!!”
Bargain she made with an imp whose name she didn’t know!!!
Chills ran down her spine when the imp stopped in his tracks. His slender tail flickering in annoyance. Lumine gulped. Had she screwed up…?
Slowly, the imp turned his head towards her, half of his face out of her vision as his golden gaze rooted her against the wall.
“Call me Childe, dearie.”
Her feet gave in. She slid down the stone wall, suddenly grateful for its coolness. Under the imp’s amused gaze, Lumine let out a long sigh of relief.
Childe…
The Protector of Childhood Dreams– Childe.
She had heard stories about him. A creature that would trick the adults into doing his biddings– for the sake of the children that wished him to. He was especially popular among them. It explained why he was dressed as a human– as to evoke familiarity in his subjects.
“Why don't you go to sleep, Your Highness?” She heard Childe’s voice through the haze that the relief put her in. "This might take a while."
Lumine lifted her eyes, trying to look at the silhouette that had just taken a seat next to the spinning wheel.
“Now, how should I repay you…?”
A murmur- It was the last thing Lumine managed to catch on, a soft hum lulling her to sleep until her entire being gave in to the temptation.
When she awoke, the imp wasn’t in the room anymore.
In his place there were bobbins– gold bobbins surrounding her bed and strategically blocking the door from where loud bangs could be heard.
Gold bobbins filling the whole room– neatly stacked up to the ceiling and around her bed. Carefully placed so as to not hinder her or her way to the door.
As for Childe?
The imp was gone. As if he had never been in the room in the first place–
Except for the gold...
As the knights forced the door open, Lumine touched her mouth with the pads of her fingers, her golden gaze stuck on the gold in front of her eyes.
The sweetness she could still taste on her lips was the only thing the imp had left behind.