Chapter Text
It had been a month since Diluc had turned 6 years old. He was currently strolling through the vineyards as he waited for lunchtime. Diluc kicked up some dirt when he thought of the lack of contact between him and his Fated. He wanted to talk to them, but what could he do if they wouldn't respond?
He had learned about Fated Pairs when he saw a man propose to his Fated on the last day of last year’s Ludi Harpastum. Confused about what was happening, Diluc asked his father.
“Isaac is asking his Fated to marry him. To be with him for life.” Diluc remembers his Father telling him with a small smile on his face.
Diluc’s red eyes took in all the flowers, smiles and colors. He could feel the happiness spreading in the warm winds. That day, Diluc made a promise to give his Fated a grand proposal just like Isaac.
That night, Diluc scoured the Ragnvindr library at home and found a book about Fated Pairs. He begged his Father to read it to him before bedtime. His father chuckled before agreeing.
“A Fated is someone who you can share anything and everything with. They are your other half. Someone who makes you feel whole.” His Father said to him, closing the storybook and placing it on the bedside table. He tugged on the covers to make sure they were fully covering Diluc.
“Was Mother your Fated?” Diluc asked with upturned wide eyes, hands clutching the edges of his comforter.
His Father hesitated before answering softly, “Yes... she was.” His voice full of tenderness and a bit of nostalgia. Hearing it always made DIluc’s chest feel stuffy, so he rarely brought up his mother.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to contact yours soon enough. I'll get you some ink so you can try writing to them later. Give it some time. Good night, son.” After giving a kiss on the forehead, his father walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Diluc lay in bed that night imagining what his Fated would look like.
Maybe they would have long hair like him! It would be black flowing hair that danced in the night breeze with their bright blue eyes glittering under the stars. Diluc giggled to himself. Or maybe they had golden hair and emerald green eyes to match that shined in the sun. Diluc continued coming up with ideas for his Fated’s life, their family, home, friends, vision... before falling asleep.
Ever since then, Diluc woke up every morning ready to hear from his Fated. While getting dressed, he checked his arms and legs, even his chest and back (he had Adelinde help with that), for any marks his Fated could have sent him. However, every day, he would start the day disappointed due to seeing clean skin.
Diluc tried to stay positive. Maybe his Fated was just learning about the Fated Pairs. Yeah, that had to be it. But some days, Diluc got so sad. His Father, Adelinde and even Elzer did everything they could to cheer him up. Most of the time it worked. But sometimes it didn’t. However, Diluc didn’t let it show. He put on a smile and thanked them for their kind words. Repeating his father’s words, “Patience is a bitter plant, but its fruit is sweet.” All he needs to do is wait a little longer. He told himself that and went on with his day.
It was another regular day when Diluc lost it.
The morning started off the same. He woke up, stretched, read his morning prayers for Barbatos, washed up and got dressed all while inspecting his skin for any message. He didn’t find any like usual. Then he went down to eat breakfast that was sitting on the table, piping hot and waiting for him. After thanking Adelinde and the staff for making the food and saying his thanks, he ate the meal quietly, chewing properly so he wouldn't get scolded.
Once breakfast was done, Diluc got out of his chair and went to the study where his lessons on proper manners and behaviors were done. His teacher arrived right on time and finished the lesson right on time, making sure it was as boring as usual. After the lesson, Diluc went to the open field to work on his swordsmanship. He simply ran through the series of steps his mentor had taught him. He tried to keep his mind on the lesson, but after each step, and every swing of the sword, Diluc got more and more agitated.
Slash
Why had they not written to him?
Step back, slash
It had already been a whole year since he learned about Fated pairs .
Slash, turn, step
So shouldn't he have heard from them?
Slash, slash
Why was it taking so long?
Diluc missed a step and ended up falling to the ground. His agitation peaked causing him to throw his wooden sword to the ground and walk away from the field. He was surely to get scolded for treating his equipment like that and leaving practice early, but Diluc didn’t care about that right now. All he wanted was to hear from his Fated.
Diluc marched into the house and up the stairs to his room. His mind registered the mess he was making, but he pushed it to the side. The only thing on his mind now was getting a response from his Fated. Walking into his room, he dug through his desk drawers before pulling out an ink quill. He took out the special ink his Father got him and opened the bottle. Dipping the quill in the ink, Diluc began writing a message.
His Fated would respond to him this time.
When Adelinde had discovered the muddy tracks Diluc had left behind, she had almost fainted. She quickly told the maids to clean it up and went to find the young master who suddenly had forgotten to clean off his shoes before entering the house.
She followed the footprints which led to Diluc’s room. The door was wide open showcasing an even messier bedroom. Ink spots littered the floor as well as some of the bedsheets. Books were strewn everywhere, open to various pages with pictures of different flora and fauna. And in the middle of the mess was the young master haphazardly dressed and covered in ink.
Adelinde almost had a heart attack when she saw the lines of ink running from Diluc’s shoulders down to his ankles. It was as if he had been attacked by an eye of the storm, except the whirlwind had phrases in ink spinning in it.
“Young Master! What are you doing?” Adelinde asked.
The said young master mumbled something unclear. His small shoulders quivering, causing the words written on his skin to be blurry. “What was that?” Adelinde asked again, softly.
“They won’t answer.” Diluc said. His fluffy red head was down obscuring the view of his face, but Adelinde knew him well enough to hear the tears in his voice.
“Oh young master. We told you it might take some time.” She said, kneeling down next to him.
“But you have been telling me that for the past year! I waited so why haven’t they answered!” Diluc cried. He looked at Adelinde, rubies swimming in tears. “Why, Adelinde? Why?”
The tears began overflowing. Each drop falling onto a different message written in ink only for it to be smeared by the tear.
Adelinde’s heart squeezed at the sight. Her poor boy was suffering, and there was nothing she could do about it. So, she did what she could. She took Diluc into her arms and stroked his hair and patted his back, whispering gentle words to hopefully sooth his cries.
“I do not know, young master. But you will hear from them soon. And if you don’t, you tell me, and I’ll go find them and drag them to you so that you can hear them answer all the questions you want to ask.” She said.
If only she had the power of the Anemo Archon to follow through on her words. The things she’d do to put that radiant smile back on her young master’s face.
Diluc sniffled. “How are you going to find them?”
“I’m sure Lord Barbatos would lend the sweet and adorable young master a hand.” She said.
“Really?” Diluc lifted his head to look at Adelinde. She nodded.
“But, before we ask Lord Barbatos, don’t you think we should clean up?”
Diluc looked around and back down at himself. His cheeks were painted pink. He nodded once causing his curly hair to bounce. Adelinde smiled and helped him up and into the bathroom. She ran the tub with hot water and made sure the temperature was alright before letting Diluc know.
“Make sure you scrub everything off. Otherwise, we won’t be able to know if your Fated wrote back. Okay?” She asked.
“Okay.” Diluc nodded. His head was down as he fidgeted with his clothes. He had his shirt unbuttoned and hung off him, presumably so that he had more room to write. But it had gotten caught in his belt, which was hanging loose. Adelinde sighed, before helping him untangle everything so that he could get undressed.
A small smile appeared on her face as she took in the ink stained, half dressed, unruly haired young master she had helped raise. This was probably one of the only times she had seen him like this. Maybe it was good that he was able to blow off some steam. Diluc’s soft voice brought her out of her thoughts.
“Will you tell Father?” He asked quietly.
Adelinde took in his demeanor. His head was still down, and his hands were clasped. “I will have to let him know,” she started. Diluc’s shoulders hunched over as though he was trying to fold into himself.
“...But, if you help me clean up all the messes you made and promise to not do it again, maybe I can change what I tell him.” She finished.
Diluc’s red eyes sparked with life as he nodded frantically. “I’ll help clean up, and I promise not to make a mess of the house, or my room, or anything else!” He said.
Adelinde laughed. “Okay, okay. The first mess you need to clean up is yourself. Now get in and wash yourself.” She pushed the young master towards the tub lightly before exiting the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
She took in the room before sighing. She then went to check on how the cleaning of the foyer was going while she waited for Diluc to finish washing up.
That night, after Diluc had helped Adelinde clean up and had dinner, he waited in his bedroom for his Father to come. Diluc prayed to Lord Barbatos that his Father believed what Adelinde told him. He always hated making his Father worry. Diluc knew just how busy his Father was with the winery, so Diluc tried to stay out of trouble and listen. The fact that he had made such a big mess of the foyer and his room was mortifying to Diluc. He hadn’t even met them, but his Fated was already taking over his mind.
Diluc knew he couldn’t go on like this. He hadn’t seen a single mark after he scrubbed off all the ink he wrote. He should have expected it, but it still hurt to see nothing. Although Diluc was tempted to try again, he had already promised Adelinde.
If writing to his Fated didn’t do anything, maybe he should try a different approach. Diluc nodded to himself. While he tried to come up with the said different approach, Diluc heard his door open and tensed up. It must be his Father.
“Diluc? Are you still awake?” A soft deep voice asked, which confirmed his suspicions.
All Diluc wanted to do was bury into his covers so that he wouldn’t have to see his Father’s disappointed gaze.
But, not responding would only cause more disappointment, so he answered. “Yes, I am awake.”
He felt the bed to the right of him go down as his Father sat on it.
Diluc looked over and took in his Father’s tired face. His Father opened his mouth, but before any words could come out, Diluc spoke.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” He said, looking away.
His father didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Do you know what you are apologizing for?”
Diluc hesitated before replying. “For making a mess, and for skipping practice.” He said softly, gripping the comforter and pulling it over his nose.
He heard his Father sigh. That made him want to dig a hole, jump in, and never leave it. Since he couldn’t do that, he just closed his eyes.
Diluc jolted when he felt a hand on his head. He felt his Father pat his hair, trying to sooth the rowdy curls.
“Diluc, I’m not angry at you,” he paused. “A bit worried, but not angry.” His Father continued to stroke his hair as he went on. “It’s okay to make a mess sometimes. You’re still young, so I don’t expect you to be perfect. You also helped clean up the mess and apologized showing that you knew what you did was wrong. But you still owned up to it. That’s good.” He stopped petting Diluc’s hair.
Diluc opened his eyes to meet his Father’s. They stared down at him as if trying to convey exactly what was going on in his mind.
“These things take time. So don’t rush.” His Father told him.
“But what if I don’t have a Fated?” Diluc asked, his voice shaking.
“Of course you have one. You’re such a special boy. And the heavens would never forget to give you someone to share your life with. Just wait a little longer okay?”
“But I’m t-”
“Remember, ‘patience is a-’”
“‘Bitter plant, but its fruit is sweet.’ I know.” Diluc said, pouting.
His Father chuckled, rubbing his head affectionately before standing up.
“If you really can’t wait, maybe send a drawing instead of a sentence? It might be easier for them to reply. But don’t get your hopes up, in case you don’t get a response.” His Father said.
Diluc nodded.
“Good night, Diluc.”
“Good night, Father.”
The bedroom door closed leaving Diluc alone with his thoughts.
Yeah, maybe he’ll try some doodles. So Diluc thought of all the things he could draw, causing him to get tired. His last thought before falling asleep was to first learn how to draw.