There was a banging on the door, followed by the bellowing of Kaeya yelling for Nat.

“I know you’re in there so wake up and answer the door,” Kaeya continued berating. Nat opened her eyes, seeing Albedo already halfway across his room to answer the door. Nat sat up in bed, stretching her arms over her head.

“Good morning Kaeya,” Albedo said groggily, “What time is it?” He questioned as the blue-haired man swept past the two of them. Albedo closed the door behind him and walked over to the window to open the blinds.

“Don’t worry it’s early, only a little past seven,” Kaeya explained, walking over to Nat who was still half asleep in the bed. He continued, “Unfortunately, the Fatui who came here for the ball are being pulled out immediately by their higher-ups. They will all be on their way out in the next hour or so, including your parents. They’ve requested to see you before they leave at the Goth Hotel, they’ll have a carriage waiting for them. They’re the last members leaving, Jean and I will be escorting them until we’ve reached Port Dornman. The rest have already left with other members of the Knights.” Kaeya explained.

“Is everything okay? Why are they leaving?” Nat questioned, processing what he was saying. Kaeya laughed, trying not to tell Nat about all that transpired last night while Albedo and Nat danced away, the less she knew the better, especially about their interaction with Dottore.

“I’m not sure why the Tsaritsa is pulling everyone out, all I know is I was requested by the Seneschal to help escort the Fatui delegates out of town. So meet your parents by eight at the Goth Hotel and I’ll see you near the gates shortly afterwards.”

“Can I join you on the escort?” Nat questioned.

“I’m sure you can walk with us for a bit,” Kaeya said. He was going to say more but was interrupted by another knock on the door. Albedo, who had started making tea, walked over to see who it was.

“Mister Albedo, “ Sucrose started, “I’m sorry to interrupt you early in the morning but there was a large snowstorm on Dragonspine last night, I’m worried some of our samples may have been blown away,” Sucrose rambled on, not realizing how many people were in the room.

“Good morning Sucrose, Albedo is fine,” Albedo turned back toward Nat and Kaeya, “Looks like we’ll both have to head out early this morning after all,” Albedo laughed and Nat sighed. So much for their day off together, she thought. “Sucrose, please head to Dragonspine, I’ll be right behind you.” Sucrose nodded her head in understanding and left. Kaeya also saw himself out and Albedo handed Nat a cup of tea.

“Well, can we meet at Angel’s Share tonight for drinks?” Albedo asked with a smile, “It’s no day lounging about together, but it’s still something”. Nat agreed, quickly drinking her tea and getting dressed.

Albedo left first, taking his tea to go to Dragonspine. Nat wasn’t far behind him as she headed toward the Goth Hotel, nerves starting to form in her stomach. Even after her talk with her father, she was nervous to see her parents, or more or so her mother. Once there, her parents were already waiting outside.

“Natalya!” Her father cheered, coming over and hugging Nat, “Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” He questioned, looking to see if he was behind her.

“He had some important business to attend to, I’m sorry,” Nat mumbled, not expecting her father to want to see Albedo.

“That’s okay, just give him this from me, will you?” He asked, handing Nat a small, wrapped, box. Nat nodded her head and put the box in her pocket.

“Giving gifts to a man you barely know,” Her mother scoffed from behind. Nat tried to ignore it.

“I heard you’re leaving early, I’m sorry your visit has come to an end, I hope you enjoyed your time in Mondstadt.”

“Yes, Master Krupp and The Dottore have requested that all Fatui delegates leave, but they haven’t given a reason why,” Her mother responded.

“Dot-, Dottore was here?” Nat fumbled with her sentence and her father snapped back to give his wife a dirty look.

“Yes, but he’s gone, and we did not tell him you’re here,” Her father reassured.

“Why?” Nat asked, wondering why her parents wouldn’t have reported finding the missing lab rat.

“Because you have worked hard for your freedom and new life, and we aren’t going to take from you what we always wanted,” Her mother answered. She continued, “We won’t dwell on it, but I know your father told you about our hopes, and we can’t get that now. So we won’t tell Dottore we saw you, or that you’re alive. We will let him think you died, just like the adventurer’s son s-” But Nat’s mom was interrupted by a knight approaching: Mika, who had been training under Kaeya, preparing to take his exams in the next few months.

“Excuse me, but the final carriage is ready to depart Mondstadt, please make your way to the gates.” Nat thanked Mika and she and her parents made their way down, having some light chatter about life back in Snezhnaya. When they reached the carriage, Kaeya and Amber greeted them.

Kaeya helped her parents load their luggage into the carriage and then helped them in, while Amber told Nat she could take her place on the expedition.

“I’ve already been yelled at by too many Fatui delegates today, I can stay back and manage the city while everyone is gone instead.” Amber half sighed, half laughed.

“Well it’s time for us to leave,” Jean said as she approached Amber and Nat. “I’ll leave the city in your care!” Jean told Amber.

“Yes ma’am!” Amber responded and they started to walk out. Kaeya and Jean walked in front of the carriage, giving Nat some privacy if she wanted to talk to her parents. While the carriage was covered, a small window was only covered with fabric, so they could easily chat if they wanted. Nat waited a moment before she started to talk.

“Momma, Papa, you started to mention the adventurer’s son before Mika approached, were you referring to Ajax?” Nat asked as they started to walk. Nat stared at her feet, watching the cobblestone. But her parents did not answer, “Guys?” She asked, but again they did not answer.

“A fire?” She heard her father say muffled by the fabric, and Nat looked up to see a purple fire burning in the cart. She could hear her parents struggling to get out, but the small window was engulfed in flames and when Nat reached for the door, it was so hot that she couldn’t grab it. She started to try and make a stake or something out of her Geo powers to get the door open when she heard screams coming from inside the carriage and all around her. Nat froze in place.

“What is that?” Jean yelled.

“The carriage!” A bystander yelled.

“A serpent on fire?” Someone else screeched.

“Nat! Watch out!” Kaeya screamed. Nat looked up and saw a giant purple serpent emerge from the burning carriage, and as she took a step back the entire carriage went up in flames, causing a small explosion. The explosion caused a shock wave that slammed Nat, and other bystanders back. She threw her hands in front of her face as the wave hit her, but it was to no avail as the shock wave caused her to flip over and slam into Margaret’s shop, knocking her out for only a moment.

When Nat came to, there was a ringing in her ears that blocked out the screams that filled the town square. When she opened her eyes, the carriage was gone and only ash remained. People in the city center were screaming, crying, and flustered. On wobbly legs Nat started to stand up, looking to see if everyone was okay.
She saw Amber trying to create a perimeter around the scene, while Jean checked on some of the wounded. When she stood up completely, she felt her one leg give out, and Nat slid back down the wall, sitting again, still not able to hear anything. That’s when Kaeya appeared in front of her. He was trying to say something to her, but she couldn’t hear him.

“I can’t hear you,” she yelled slightly louder than she needed, “there’s a ringing in my ear,” she continued, and Kaeya nodded his head in understanding, offering her a hand and helping her up. She leaned into him, using him as a crutch as he carried her further from the scene, and they sat down on the fountain’s edge. Kaeya looked over Nat, who had burns on her arms from where she protected her face, mixed with road rash and some scrapes from her back flip into the building. Kaeya placed his hands gently on Nat’s arms, relieving her of some of the pain. They sat there in silence until the ringing stopped enough for Nat to hear again. “How many people were hurt?” Nat asked. Kaeya looked down at her.

“Including you fifteen were injured and two deceased, I’m sorry Nat.”

“Did they just turn to ash?” She asked, tears brimming, but if they were from her emotions or the pain Nat wasn’t sure.

“The whole carriage turned to ash. I’ve never seen anything like that, not since father…” Kaeya recollected Crepus’s death, and how he too turned to ash.

“My whole body hurts,” Nat whined, trying to change the topic. It was bad enough that her biological parents were dead, she didn’t want to think of the death of her adoptive father too.

“You did a backflip into Margaret’s shop, your whole body should hurt.”

“Did I look cool doing it?” Nat asked, causing Kaeya to laugh.

“No, no you did not,” He responded.

Before long the entirety of the knights were at the scene, closing it off and doing an inventory. Lisa and Barbara came down to attend to all the wounded, and soon Sucrose, Timeous, and Albedo returned from Dragonspine; alerted by another knight that Lisa needed their help managing the wounded. Nat watched from their higher vantage point as Lisa gave Albedo’s assistants tasks before pointing Nat out at the top of the stairs. When Albedo looked up, he had a face mixed with worry and the tone of “not again” as Nat and Kaeya waved to him. Albedo trudged his way up the stairs with a first aid kit. When he made it to the fountain, he knelt in front of Nat, examining her wounds.

“I left for a few hours and you get hurt, I’m going to have to put you in a bubble or something to keep you safe.” He sighed as he took one arm to wrap up.

“I just love the attention, what can I say,” Nat joked as she sighed. Kaeya laughed and excused himself to help Jean.

“What even happened? Swan just said Lisa needed medical assistance as soon as possible.”

“The carriage my parents were in exploded and then turned into ash,” Nat said in a flat tone. Albedo looked up at her in shock.

“Your parents? Exploded, and turned to ash?”

“Along with their carriage and personal artifacts,” Nat added. Albedo sat back on his feet, thinking to himself for a moment before getting up to hug Nat. Nat leaned into the hug but winced when Albedo pulled her in tighter. He pulled back and cocked his head in confusion. “Did I mention I backflipped into a wall?” She nervously laughed.

Soon the square cleared out and Kaeya, Amber, and Jean were all summoned back to headquarters for an emergency meeting to figure out what exactly was going on. Nat ensured Albedo she was fine so he could go assist the infirmary with the influx of cases they had because of the incident, bringing a new cryo slime concoction that truly did make the burning sensation go away.

Nat took a walk out to Starsnatch Cliff, she sat in silence as she watched the sunset. She wondered what her parents were going to say about Ajax’s father. Are they going to say they thought both of them had died on the day they ran away? She assumed that’s what most of Snezhnaya thought, but maybe they were going to say something else. She was grateful that they didn’t tell Dottore about her, and she felt bad that they had just finally talked and understood one another, now they had no opportunity to ever grow a relationship together. To ever be parents and daughter ever again. This realization flooded Nat with emotions, and she pulled her knees to her chest as she started to cry. She felt like she couldn’t catch a break anymore. For some reason the archons kept testing her, but Nat wasn’t sure how much of this all she could take.