Chapter Text
Xiao stands at Morax’s side, a blank expression on his face. There are guests here today and Xiao has no intentions of ruining this for his new master. The doors swing open, two guards flanking Ganyu, the Emperor’s… assistant? He’s not quite sure what her official role is but he knows she does a lot.
“They’ll be here in three hours, my lord, all the rooms have been set up and dinner will be ready for after the initial meeting.” She holds a scroll open in her hands, a quill in the other, checking something. Her eyes don’t even meet the Emperor’s for more than a moment, acknowledging his presence before looking back to her list.
“Perfect, perhaps check in with Guizhong next, I know she wanted to be here when Master Gunnhildr arrived.” Ganyu nods, in response, quickly turning and leaving the room. Xiao has seen this before, later tonight when things have calmed Ganyu will apologize to Lord Morax for any disrespect or shortness, he will refuse to hear it and instead send her off to relax. The kindness doesn’t ease Xiao’s worries, it only seems to make him more defensive.
“Xiao, have a seat,” It is still strange to hear the new title for himself. “I brought you here to discuss this upcoming visit with you.” Lord Morax sits on his throne and gestures for Xiao to kneel on the space in front. He assumes this interpretation is wrong by the way Morax seems to grimace before fixing his face, sighing softly. Xiao does not move.
“Once a year I meet with the Grandmaster of Mondstadt, our neighboring country.” Xiao nods, he’s been to the icy mountains that border the two lands before. “We discuss the continued relations of our nations and go over the contracts made the year before. The discussions last three days and once they’re done, we have a feast in honor of another year of peace and unity between our lands.” Xiao nods, his Lord pauses for a moment, staring at Xiao like he expects something. Unfortunately, Xiao has never been good at delivering.
“This meeting is special. For the first time in 100 years, Lord Barbatos will be joining us.” Xiao feels the wind on his skin for a moment, his magic thrumming inside of him. Lord Barbatos, one of the seven great mages, master of the wind and the Saint of Freedom. Xiao has always had an affinity for the wind, despite never having experienced a taste of freedom in his whole life. Unless you count now, according to his Master, Xiao is still unsure. “So in honor of that, we will be throwing a festival the day after the feast to truly ring in a new era of peace. With the Thousand Years War finally coming to an end, we wish to help our people prosper.”
It’s a noble idea, Xiao does admire how much his Master seems to care for his people. His previous master was happy to let her people starve and die if it meant her opulence could grow.
“They plan on bringing two special guests. Two elves have seemingly found a home in Mondstadt and grown close with Barbatos and the Grandmaster. I told them I too had a ward I wished to introduce.” Xiao stares at his Master, unsure. These people seem high ranking, important, the last thing they need is Xiao dirtying the atmosphere.
“I will meet them if you wish, Lord Morax.” The mage stares at him, eyes cold.
“But would you actually like to meet them? I do not wish to force this meeting upon you.” Xiao does not fall for this very obvious trap. He nods his head.
“Yes, I would like to meet the elves, my lord.” There is silence between the two as Morax sighs.
“Eleves are a dying race, very few still exist now. I know you are familiar with this, as am I and many of my court.” Xiao does not respond, he doesn’t need to. Illuminated Beasts are far and few in between now, most having been killed off during the war. When he was brought here he was shocked at how many of his kind were in one place. “While my court has a variety of characters, yours is… unique.” Lord Morax dances around specifics, Xiao tries not to cringe when he remembers how horribly out of line he acted when his Master tried to pry into his past. Peng are Illuminated Beasts that haven’t been seen for hundreds of years. Most living people have only heard of them in legends. Just as most will go a whole lifetime without meeting an elf.
His lord opens his mouth to continue when the doors open again. The quick, yet soft footsteps of Guizhong fill the room, she immediately lets out a disappointed tisk.
“Morax, you should feel shame for allowing him to kneel like this.” He can practically feel the daggers she’s glaring at the man sitting on the throne.
“I will not force him to do things he is uncomfortable with.” Morax sighs, he does it often enough that the immediate spike of fear Xiao usually feels at the sound has dulled just slightly.
“Come, we need to get you into finer clothing, you haven’t even helped him dress and prepare, little bird we must do your hair.” Lady Guizhong's hand hovers over the small of his back but she doesn’t actually touch. Her other hand gestures for him to stand, he does and quickly follows after. He knows by now that Master considers Lady Guizhong’s words as equal to his own, so Xiao listens. The title ‘little bird’ unsettles him, it feels too… familiar.
The walk to the bath is filled with the Lady’s ramblings of her newest inventions and prototypes. Many of them confuse him but he listens none the less, walking just slightly behind her. The bathing room is warm in a way that makes Xiao’s body feel heavy.
Bathing is similar to the walk here, he just lets Lady Guizhong speak, giving short answers when prompted. Now though, she tells him a little about the guests. The Grandmaster is coming, along with her cavalry captain and a high ranking knight, a wealthy merchant, an archivist, an alchemist plus his assistant and a small platoon of knights. Lord Barbatos and the elves get little mention, Xiao does not question her.
By the time he’s done he’s being whisked back away in his formal clothes, a teal hanfu that matches the colored part of his hair with purple accents, and a belt with Cor Lapis hanging off the strings. Guizhong is in much more regal attire, layered robes made of a deep, deep brown and covered in gold designs, a dragon stitched into the fabric. Her hair though is not adorned with a lush headdress but just a simple hair clip made from cor lapis.
The throne room is much more alive and full when Xiao reenters. Members of the court are in position, taking their places in the open area. Lord Morax sits in his throne, his robes similar to Guizhong's though to an elevated level, gold and cor lapis jewelry adorning him as he reads over a long scroll, a pile of them organized on the small end table now next to him. One of his servants is finishing putting his long hair half up, his headdress next to him and ready to put on.
Ganyu is running around the room, last minute checks, going over her scroll and checking in with everybody. Three of the Emperor’s four generals stand next to his throne, adorned in ornamental battle gear, ceremonial weapons at their sides. Guizhong takes Xiao to the front and takes her seat at her throne, falling into the space like she was there the whole time, grabbing a scroll and starting to read.
Xiao stands there, staring off into the room. With no orders to follow he just waits for what happens next. The air in the room is full of excitement but he doesn’t quite get why. Every peace talk his previous master ever had ended in bloodshed and betrayal. He was curious to see how this all pans out. Towards the back of the room is a collection of musicians with various instruments, though Xiao couldn’t name any if he tried.
After 15 minutes of silently waiting Ganyu approaches, whispering in Lord Morax’s ear. She quickly rushes down to take her place in the front room, he waves his hands and his servants rush away, off to the sides of the room where the others are. Lord Morax stands and the room quickly falls silent, the Emperor’s presence filling the room.
“Today marks the beginning of another year of peace and unity between Liyue and Mondstadt.” As his voice fills the room and the doors open, music begins to ring out from the of the room as a group is lead in by Bosacius, Marshal of the army and the fourth of Morax’s generals. He marches formally, eyes locked ahead at Lord Morax. Behind him is a woman, tall and in a similar ornamental battle gear the generals are in, her armored polished and her blonde hair up in a perfect pony tail. Her pace is perfectly in time with Bosacius and her eyes carry a similar sense of intensity.
The next group is clearly her group of selected representatives. First a man with blue hair in his own nice armor and a deep cut shirt that seems a little out of place in this context, even for someone like Xiao who has no idea what he’s talking about. He has a toothy smile that manages to cover up the way his gaze icily scans the area. He’s next to a woman with long, mousy brown hair wearing clothes a bold red and with a smile so warm that he already knows she has a knack for fire. The two are followed by a broad man with fiery red hair and piercing red eyes. The man’s eyes are cold and calculating, similar to the blue haired man, wearing fine merchant clothes, giving away who he is to Xiao. He’s next to a taller woman in a beautiful purple dress, a pointed hat on her head that gives him pause. He was told there was an archivist amongst the group though this woman seems to be a mage. After them is a blonde man with golden eyes that stare off like he’s thinking of something else and a woman next to him with minty hair and big glasses, Xiao’s eyes immediately see the animal ears she tries to hide with her hat. Flanking them all is a small platoon of knights in the official Knights of Favonius uniform.
“Please welcome, Grandmaster Jean Gunnhildr and the Knights of Favonius.” His Master continues to speak but the voice is drowned out as the final three trail in behind the group is Lord Barbatos and the two elves. Xiao can’t look away from one of the elves, his hair is golden blonde and in a long braid with strands hanging out in the front. He’s wearing a white flower in his hair with soft, golden eyes. His tunic is thick and goes down to his mid thigh, a deep brown color and a black long sleeved shirt underneath. A cape flows behind him, standing out as mostly white with a gold layer on top that Xiao can’t quite make out. His pants are a brown matching his top with boots that come up just below his knee with gold on the toe and soles. He struggles to pull his eyes away, only doing so when his gaze meets gold, making eye contact with the man for a moment before ripping his eyes away. The other elf with him seems to be related to him, dressed similarly, though she wears a dress.
“And this is my ward, Xiao.” He snaps back to reality clearly having missed some introductions, looking to his Master before at the woman that now stands at the bottom of the steps to the throne. Lord Morax steps forward, gesturing for Xiao to follow, Guizhong standing beside his Master. Lord Morax shakes the woman's hand. Guizhong does the same and eventually the Grandmasters eyes land on him. Xiao fights the urge to straighten his posture and kneel. Instead he goes with a deep bow before standing again, moving back behind his Master.
“I’m happy to be here, Lord Morax, we have much to discuss this year.” She says, Lord Morax chuckles.
“That we do, why don’t I show you to your rooms and the meeting areas, then we will come back for a nice dinner.” He says, the woman nods in response. The interactions are so formal. “Then please, join me for a meeting.” His master says, turning and walking towards the back of the room.
Xiao looks around, eyebrows furrowing. All these people came here for this greeting and it's over just like that? He can’t quite wrap his head around it. He feels dust against his cheek and his eyes turn to Guizhong standing next to him, her face is taut.
“Are you alright little bird? It’s time to go.” She says. His Master is already halfway across the room with his generals, the Grandmaster and some of her group following behind him. Xiao feels a sick feeling building inside of him, he should not have let himself become distracted.
“Yes, My Lady, I am alright.” He says, steadying himself, staring forward again, her hand hovering over his back, gesturing him forward.