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Chapter 02
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DUO ESCAPADE.

•••

"Paimon, we're going on a mission!"

The little flying companion burst out from her mini spot in your closet once you locked the door to your private room in the faction headquarters. Her big eyes were wide with excitement, and she was practically bursting with energy the moment she realized your words.

"We? As in you and me?" she excitedly asked.

You quickly shushed her, whispering, "Not too loud." After a moment of silence in which you determined no one was listening in, you confirmed to your friend, "But yes, I'm taking you with me for this mission. I'll explain the details to you once we get outside."

"Yes!" Paimon exclaimed through a whisper. "I finally get to go out of this stuffy room and eat real food that isn't just your leftovers!"

Though the little fairy-thing tended to be over dramatic, she unfortunately wasn't exaggerating her state of living. Paimon was an odd one when you met her—you've never seen anything like her, actually. She was scared, stumbling as she was hunted down by people who feared the unknown. So your first instinct was to hide her before anyone could potentially harm her, and she's been secretly living with you ever since.

"You better let me try all sorts of new food during this mission, captain!" Paimon gushed.

"I will, I will," you laughed.

A sudden knock at the door caused you and Paimon to look at each other, the both of you clearly startled at the sound. On instinct, you whispered to her.

"Hide."

And without complaints, Paimon hurriedly dove back into hiding herself in your closet as you made your way to the door. She stayed silent as practiced many times before, staying back to peek through the tiny crevice of the closet opening just to see who the visitor was.

A little click, and you opened the door to reveal...

No one.

It was dead silent outside your room, and even as you surveyed the open area, you spotted not a single trace of a person. That is, until your foot suddenly came into collision with something in front of you, causing you to look down at the small disturbance below.

A cute little gift basket sat on the floor right in front of the door to your room, and it was clear that the person who gifted it never intended to let you see them. The basket was lined with a white cloth that held fresh bread and pastries in it, as well as a few small gourds you assumed carried water.

Atop it all sat a small piece of paper attached to the handle by a violet string, and you took the basket in before reading the dainty handwriting.

"A little gift to wish you a safe journey, cutie."

Below it, a cursive little "Lisa" was signed with a heart next to it.

"P.S. Please keep in mind the warning I gave you earlier today."

You were snapped out of your state of focus when you heard your door close, only to see Paimon locking it. She then flew over to look at the basket in curiosity, surveying and poking the pastries Lisa had left for you.

"Captain!" Paimon called. "Is that... chocolate drizzled on the bread?" she asked in wonder, pointing at a rectangular-shaped pastry.

You hummed in confirmation before adding, "There's also some chocolate inside the bread."

Paimon gasped in amazement at the very sound of it, and you told her she could eat it if she wanted with a chuckle and a dismissive wave. Your companion basically scarfed down the treat with a satisfactory sigh, to which you could assume meant she liked it. She then wrapped the rest of the bread in the cloth that came with the basket before carrying over the gourds of water for you to pack.

Your own backpack didn't hold much, really. The only reason for its size was to carry Paimon in if she ever needed to hide. Other than the gourds of water, a few snacks, and a few other small travel necessities, it was practically empty space. At least now you had a cute basket of bread with you to share with your travel buddy.

Heading to the door with your bag hanging off your shoulders and the basket in your hand, you signaled Paimon to get into position. She flew over to you, shuffled herself in your bag until she was comfortable, and then finally zipped the bag closed so she was concealed and ready to go.

The two of you made your way out of the faction capital, stepping forth unto a new journey.

•••

"Wahhh! Fresh air at last!"

Paimon flew next to you against the light breeze, stretching out her tiny limbs as you chuckled at her.

"This mission sounds kinda scary, though," she admitted in concern. Her voice was a tad muffled as she casually munched on a small cheese roll from the bread basket. "Are you sure this is just a one-person job?"

"It probably isn't," you sighed. "But we have no other choice. The details of this mission must be kept secret, so don't go babbling about it too loudly, okay?"

"Got it, captain!"

Paimon was truly a nice companion to have around, you'd have to admit. Though she could be quite loud at times, she was a good listener, and it was obvious she cared about your feelings with the way she'd always ask about your day. She was an entity unknown and undiscovered in Teyvat, but you'd hate to see her fall subject to torturous experiments.

The tiny fairy-thing was like your little sister, if anything—a sibling you unfortunately had to hide, because you'll be questioned otherwise. But Paimon seemed to trust you nevertheless. Despite constant hiding and sneaking in food just for her, she no doubt appreciated your efforts and had trust in you.

"What do you think are the chances we'll run into the princess?" Paimon wondered as she dusted crumbs off her hands.

"Honestly," you admitted, "if not none, then the chances are probably very low." To be fair, for the princess to be missing this long was very concerning, because surely someone would've recognized and spotted her by now. If she's actually alive somewhere in Teyvat, you doubted she could be lost for too long without someone finding her, no matter how dense the forest or how wide the river.

Even as you and Paimon waded through small woods and fields in the region of Mondstadt, you couldn't imagine the princess remaining hidden and unfound.

"Hm," Paimon pondered your response. "I'd have to agree," she shrugged. "But, hey! I guess that means we can use this time to explore the other factions! Plus," she began with a sly grin, "that means you have to let me try out new food and other human things." She flew frantically with her arms flailing around in excitement, eagerly searching around the empty woods you were in to try and find something new to her.

"Oh, oh!" she yelled. Before you could even respond, she was already dashing towards an opening in the forest, shouting, "Look, captain! A small lake! I'm gonna try catching a fish for us to eat!"

"Wait!" you exclaimed when you realized she was literally going to dive into the lake to catch a fish. "Paimon, don't—!"

"Wah!"

Immediately upon impact with the water, your companion realized that being in a body of water was, in fact, not the same as being on the surface. She flailed her limbs helplessly, trying her best to stay afloat as she called to you in pure panic.

"Captain!" she cried. "Captain, help! I can't swim!"

Dear Celestia, your companion is free for only a few hours, and the first thing she does is put herself in a life-threatening situation.

"Hold on, I'm coming to save you!" you assured.

But before you could even make a move to jump into the water, Paimon let out a rather surprised yelp, followed by what sounded like a reel. Your companion's body suddenly zipped through the water, before being pulled out of the lake and hung up in the air by a sturdy string. And that sturdy string, you realized, was a fishing line.

"Oh, sorry!" the fisher called to her catch, which happened to be Paimon. "Didn't mean to reel you in, little kid!"

"Wah! Put me down!"

The fisher quickly unhooked Paimon from the line as  you came running up to the pair, and your companion let out another yelp as she planted face-first onto the ground. She groaned and coughed out something along the lines of, "Captain... Help..." but you weren't paying attention.

Instead, your gaze was locked on the girl before you—the girl who fished your companion out of the lake. Blonde hair, golden eyes, flowery pin, white dress peeking out from under her large cloak; a face you only saw in regal paintings unexpectedly showed itself before you.

No way... you inwardly gasped.

"Princess Lumine?"

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ALLEGIANCE
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// DID YALL SEE THE NEW OUTFITS.

there are new ones for rosaria + mona + amber too but ANYWAYS,

the new one is jean's outfit in this story i literally do not care. she's so attractive in it, like a prince or a knight i'm— LIKE, "ACTING GRANDMASTER" no. she's the actual grandmaster (at least in this story she is) because i said so and varka doesn't exist!!