The next morning, Albedo sat awake watching the sunrise, drawing Nat in his sketchbook. He was worried for her, and had never heard her voice lay as flat as it had the day before. It broke his heart to see her hurting, even though she tried to hide it. While getting to know her over the last few months, he had seen a spunky and joyful friend, even during her injury she was full of energy and ready for whatever came next. But yesterday her mask was up, and it created a feeling inside of him that he couldn’t explain.

When the sun had come up over the mountains, and he felt it wasn’t too early, Albedo went to get Nat so they could continue to Mondstadt. He knew Nat would want to check in on Kaeya and Jean, tell them the arrangements, and get everything done sooner than later. He knocked on her door, and heard her rummaging inside her room, opening the door seconds later ready to go.

“All set?” She asked Albedo, a small smile on her face.

“If you’re ready, I’m ready,” Albedo responded, and with that they started their way back to Mondstadt. On their walk, Albedo talked about his conversations with Xingqiu and Chongyun, how he had never been to Liyue before and how nice it was. He asked if he could accompany Nat more often on her excursions there, and she eagerly agreed. “You won’t have to stop by Dragonspine to say hello as much!” Albedo exclaimed, forcing a laugh out of Nat. They arrived in Mondstadt shortly and went straight to the Knights of Favonius looking for Kaeya. When he wasn’t in his room, Nat got worried and they went to Jean.

“He took Klee to Windrise earlier today, but don’t worry, he won’t do anything with Klee.” Jean explained, but Nat was still worried. They back tracked to Windrise, where Klee and Kaeya were having a small picnic in front of Venessa’s tree.

“Big brother Albedo!” Klee exclaimed when she saw Albedo, getting up and running over to give him a hug. Albedo bent down to pick her up into a hug as Kaeya turned around, pushing himself up off his elbows when he saw Nat. Nat noted that his eyes were still red, the bags under his eyes had grown significantly, and she was almost certain he hadn’t slept since she left.

“How did everything go, Nat?” Kaeya asked as she walked over, kneeling down in front of him before giving him a big hug. It took Kaeya by surprise at first, but he settled into the hug quickly, welcoming the embrace from the only family he had left. Albedo saw the emotions stirring in the air, and took Klee to the water, out of sight from Kaeya and Nat, giving them a moment alone. As soon as they left a quiet sob escaped Kaeya’s lips.

“Everything went well, we’ll have the service in two days at the church. Hu Tao will bring everything.” Nat finally answered, still sitting on her knees embracing Kaeya, “You’re going to be okay Kaeya. We have each other, our friends, the knights… I am here for you and love you so much.” Nat felt her throat tighten, but kept her cool on the outside. She continued, “He’ll come home one day, he can’t just leave.” They sat like that for a moment, before they heard a loud noise come from the water, causing them both to chuckle.

“Klee went fishing,” Kaeya laughed as they heard tiny feet running over.

“KAEYA!” Klee yelled, causing Nat and Kaeya to separate and look for the Spark Knight, “I got a big fish!!”

“Klee, don’t tell Master Varka or Jean, you know you aren’t supposed to do that.” Albedo called from behind her as she finally caught up to Kaeya, holding the fish up for him to see.

“That is a gigantic catch Klee, you must have used some force to get it.” Kaeya exclaimed, wiping away his tears. He turned to Nat, and put a hand on hers, mouthing thank you to her before Klee turned her attention to her.

“Nat, Dodoco and Klee also found you a flower!” Klee said, handing Nat a Cecilia flower, “Big brother Albedo said they’re your favorite!” Nat took the flower, tucking it behind her ear.

“This has made my day Klee, thank you.” Nat responded, and Klee giggled in excitement and took a seat in Nat’s lap. The four sat in Windrise together until Klee was passed out in Albedo’s arms, and they made their way back to Mondstadt, tucking Klee in and parting ways for the night.

The next few days were a whirlwind leading up to Crepus’ funeral. There were rumors and talk about Diluc’s leave, how Crepus died, and what would happen to Kaeya and Nat. Kaeya was heavily drinking at night, but during the day he and Nat tried to return to normal life and knight duties, but something didn’t seem right around headquarters lately.

The night before the funeral, Nat was returning home from Springvale, after escorting some citizens back home after a hilitroll attack, when Outrider Amber stopped her. Amber was a very young member of the Outrider division of the knights, a smaller division founded by Amber’s grandfather, who had journeyed to Mondstadt from Liyue to find his way. She was sweet, determined, and full of energy; energy Nat didn’t want to handle at the moment.

“Nat may I talk to you quickly?” Amber asked in a hushed voice.

“Of course, did you want to head back to headquarters and chat there?” Nat questioned.

“No, here in private is perfect,” Amber responded, which made Nat suspicious. “It’s about Master Diluc,” Amber continued, “I know why he left Mondstadt, and I wanted to tell you before you find out from Eroch.”

“From Eroch?” Nat questioned, “What does he have to do with Diluc leaving Mondstadt?” Eroch was an inspector for the knights, and one of the more mysterious Knights of Favonious at that. Nat had met him a handful of times, and he had barely paid her much mind.

“Master Diluc had come to talk to Master Varka about what happened with his father,” Amber took a pause before continuing, “I had been playing in the office waiting for my grandfather and hid in the cupboard to try and scare him when Eroch and Master Diluc came in with a few other knights. Eroch said that the incident could not be disclosed to the public, because Ordo Favionous would lose credibility if the public found out the situation had been settled by a mere merchant…”

“Mere merchant?” Nat scoffed, fuming on the inside but trying to not take her anger out on Amber. “What happened after Amber? I wasn’t able to see Diluc after the meeting, so this is all new information for me,” Nat led, trying to find out where Diluc may have gone.

“Not much, Master Diluc gave up his vision and his knight’s uniform and left…”

“Gave up his vision?” Nat was shocked, and could not believe that Diluc had given up his vision, something he had cherished since he was ten years old. Kaeya had told stories of Diluc’s excitement retrieving the vision and how it had made his father so proud. How could he give something like that up after his father’s death?

“I’m sorry I don’t know more Nat, I had heard rumors of Master Diluc leaving Mondstadt, and wanted to make sure you and Master Kaeya knew the truth.” Amber admitted, looking down nervous to be talking to Nat, though she knew she would be more fearful talking to the Quartermaster of the Knights, Kaeya.

“No of course Amber,” Nat said, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on Amber’s shoulder, “I appreciate you letting me know, I’ll spread the news to Kaeya. Thank you.” Nat removed her hand from Amber’s shoulders, and the two said goodbye. As Nat walked back to her room to file paperwork from her expedition, she knew she wouldn’t be telling Kaeya what happened until after the funeral. She wondered if Master Varka knew of the situation, but knew Eroch was a higher ranking inspector, and certainly Master Varka would side with him. In any case, she filed her paperwork and went to sleep, restless with thought about tomorrow’s funeral.

In Mondstadt, funeral traditions are dark colors and your mourning uniform if you have one. The morning before Nat had a brand new uniform delivered to her room, black pants and top, only slightly different from her current ware, but emotionally it felt like night and day, reminded her too much of her past. Looking at herself in the mirror before leaving to find Kaeya, Nat took a deep sigh. She already couldn’t wait for this day to be over.

After grabbing Kaeya from his room, in his equally dark uniform, the two went to Dawn Winery to meet with Crepus’ staff. Kaeya made sure they were very involved in the service, as they were family too. Adeline took Kaeya’s hand and led him to the side to talk, Nat overheard some of the conversation; Adeline wanted to remind Kaeya that the winery and manor were always his home and that he was entitled to his portion of the will. The will was something Kaeya refused to take, but Adeline was still pushing as she believed he was just as deserving as Diluc. Kaeya shook his head, he didn’t think he was deserving after everything that had happened with Diluc, and Diluc definitely didn’t think he deserved it. Nat walked over to them, deciding it was time to break up the conversation.

“Are we ready to go, Adeline?” Nat asked, coming up from behind Kaeya.

“Yes Nat, we can proceed to the service,” Adeline responded as she smiled, motioning to the staff to get moving. Elzer came over and took Adeline’s hand, wiping a silent tear off of her cheek. They started their way to the church, feeling like a dark cloud migrating towards the city of freedom. The streets were empty until they reached the church, it seemed like every citizen of Mondstadt was waiting for them. Nat saw many familiar faces in the streets like Draff, Donna, and Eroch. Nat scoffed at his presence as they entered the church, where more familiar faces stared. She saw Jean and Albedo up front with Master Varka, the Outriders, and other knights like Eula. She hated how the attention lay on them, she didn’t like being in the spotlight, it reminded her too much of the whispers that spread when she first joined the knights and everyone was shocked to see a Shneznyan in Ordo Favonius.

Nat felt the service was beautiful, and most of Mondstadt would agree with her. Sister Barbara led it, her first service, feeling the need to take it on personally, growing up with Crepus’ sons. Hu Tao and Zhongli were in attendance as well, making sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes, something Nat was extremely grateful for. She needed the day to go without a hitch for Kaeya, but something inside her stung when Diluc didn’t show up as she had hoped. With the funeral over, it was time for everyone to mingle outside the church. Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had provided food and drink for after the service, and Nat and Kaeya quickly became separated as different people approached them to share their condolences.

Nat was immediately approached by Chongyun and Xingqiu who provided her with hugs and kind words. “Nat, we are here for anything you may need. The entire Guild shares their condolences and support.” Xingqiu rested a hand on her shoulder as he spoke.

“Thank you both for coming this far, you didn’t have to,” Nat responded.

“Friends support one another,” Chongyun smiled as he talked, “we are needed to balance each other out.” Chongyun and Xingqiu continued to chat with her, while Kaeya talked with Master Varka, Inspector Eroch, and Seneschal Seamus. She was so distracted observing them that she didn’t hear Klee approach her.

“Miss Nat! Klee brought you a cookie from the creepy lady at the table!” Klee held up a cookie that Hu Tao had given her, and Nat knelt down to receive it.

“Thank you Klee, you didn’t have to.”

“Big brother Albedo said today would make you and Mister Kaeya very sad, so I wanted to help, and cookies always make Klee happy.” Nat smiled and took Klee in for a hug, and they sat on a bench, listening to people pass by. Everyone was gossiping about the day.

“I wonder where Master Diluc is. Weird he missed his own father’s funeral.”

“I heard he was recruited by the Fatui, could be something to do with that girl Crepus helped.”

“Rumor has it it was a trap meant to kill Master Diluc, Crepus was the casualty instead.”

“Do you think Master Kaeya will take over the winery?”

Listening to everyone chatter without knowing what was happening weighed heavy on Nat’s heart. She looked for Kaeya, who was now chatting with Jean and Eula, both of which seemed to be offering to help with duties and tasks.

“Klee, why don’t you go give Kaeya a cookie. I’m sure Hu Tao still has some, I think it would make him feel happy too.” Nat asked. Klee understood her mission, and jumped up to get the cookie and deliver it to Kaeya.

“Klee likes to be a messenger of joy, I hope it wasn’t too much today.” Albedo spoke, coming from behind to take Klee’s seat next to Nat. “How are you holding up?” He asked.

“The cookie made things better, but hearing people gossip about Kaeya and Diluc on a day like today has me very… annoyed to say the least. When this is all over we should spar.”

“Today?” Albedo questioned, knowing Nat well enough to know that sparring meant something else was on her mind.

“Yeah, blow some steam off, ya know?” Before Albedo could argue, Klee ran over tugging Kaeya along. Kaeya had two cookies in hand and seemed exhausted.

“Klee wants to go to Windrise!” Klee announced.

“Kaeya would also like to go to Windrise,” Kaeya agreed, exhausted from the day. So the four escaped to Windrise, cookies in hand, away from everyone else. When the sun set, and Klee had fallen asleep yet againn, they walked back to Mondstadt. After Albedo tucked Klee in, Nat asked about sparring.

“It’s late Nat, is something else on your mind?” Albedo responded, while Kaeya crossed his arms.

“Today is hardly the day to spar Nat, aren’t you already exhausted?” Kaeya questioned.

“Sparring helps me clear my mind,” Nat responded, feeling slightly defensive.

“What needs to be cleared in your head?” Kaeya inquired. Nat stayed quiet for a moment, not wanting to let her thoughts out. She had been relying too much on Albedo and Kaeya was already stressed enough.

“Please tell us Nat, we’re here for you.” Albedo prodded as they walked out of Klee’s room, quietly shutting the door behind them.

“I guess I thought Diluc would be back today, and he wasn’t.” Nat answered, and Kaeya immediately understood the pain she must’ve been feeling all day. Without saying anything he gave Nat a hug.

“I too had hoped for his return, but it seems we must carry on without him for now. In due time he will return.” Kaeya responded, trying to stay hopeful as he pulled out of the hug.

“Let us go rest, tomorrow we can spar if you still feel unrest,” Albedo suggested and Nat shook her head in agreement as the three parted ways.