Duchess of Crime | Genshin Impact

10. stuck ♥

I wander around endlessly, trying not to think about being lost in my mind.

If anything, I'm impatient to get back to reality. 

The lack of sound in here disturbs me, a foreign pressure pressing against my skin. Is this how I was controlled? Thinking back on it, how do I know any of my current memories are my true ones? 

I briefly saw memories of an unhappy childhood—has my life been a lie? Have I already been manipulated to the point of no return?  Being in here awakens deep, slumbering emotions that sit in my gut anxiously, waiting for me to finally snap.

Am I the ticking time bomb?

The more I investigate, the weirder everything becomes and whilst nothing makes sense, I know that I'm the eventual catalyst for what happens next. 

Striding through the neverending void, I concentrate on my hope of getting out. I bump into a figure in the darkness—that's new. Its aqua glow fascinates me and I automatically reach out to touch it, letting it swirl against my fingers.

"Gwen, is that you?" The connection seems to be interrupted, his voice breaking up.

"Neuvillette?" I speak into the glow.

"Fascinating..." He murmurs, his voice distorting slightly.

I stand around the glowing figure, trying to focus on what's being said. Surprisingly, the figure morphs into Neuvillette himself, who's rolling his shirt sleeves up. He looks informal without his long cloak on.

Adjusting his blue neck ribbon, "It's been a while since I came here."

I blink a few times, "How are you here?" my voice is full of wonder and confusion.

He smiles, "This isn't the first time we've met, you know?"

My face is blank, nothing ringing a bell which he takes note of. 

With a strangely sad sigh, rain immerses us, its touch as light as a feather, "You used to call out to me, and I would give you advice." He whispers, reminiscing over the past.

"I gifted you a part of my—Fontaine's— power, but..." He trails off.

"But what?" I prompt, grasping his wrist suddenly. 

"I never expected that you'd be used like this, for that, I am truly sorry." 

♥

Neuvillette's revelation hit me straight in the heart, a fog lifting from my mind. 

"Neuvillette—why? Why did you gift me this ability?"

He gracefully looks down, "You were drowning in unknown water, treading an uncertain path and I only wanted to give you something to do good with."

I viciously shake my head, "No!" I raise my voice, "You're lying! I saw it, the—the blue creature..!" I stammer.

"Blue creature?" He questions, his face turning white, "You mean, you saw one of Fontaine's ancient Oceanids?"

An ancient Oceanid? I calm down slightly, unsure of where the anger came from in the first place. 

I find myself nodding, repeating its words to Neuvillette. 

"I'm not lying to you, Gwen. I know I gave you some of my hydro authority." He reassures me, "If the Oceanid has been corrupted by your past, it explains its hostility towards you."

He seems to muse for a while, "If anything, the Oceanid could be used to shape your behaviour, does that ring a bell?"

How could Neuvillette possibly know anything about my past? I must have confided in him before, but when? It couldn't have been when I was a child, I have memories of school, memories of my loving parents...

Or, am I trying to convince myself that happened?

It shatters in an instant, the illusion on my memories. How long have I been deluding myself? Old feelings bleed in my mind, the hatred for the world blossoming from a bulb into a flower. My life hasn't been as easy as I've been pretending it was.

I mean, I've somehow ended up in the Fortress of Meropide. Nobody who's been playing happy families as a child gets sent here. 

I eye Neuvillette, "My memories are lies, aren't they?"

He seems relieved to know I've come to some sort of truth by myself, "I believe they were using the Oceanid to manipulate new memories."

That explains my innate uneasiness about this realm, they sent me here, somehow managing to control my ability against me. They used it as a consequence for misbehaving, for not living up to their expectations.

The bubble bursts, the light rain whirling into a storm. I let it out, intense tears flow down my face as I sink to my knees. I don't dare to look at Neuvillette, his body tense with guilt. 

"Who am I?" I scream over the rough wind, my words echoing away. 

And consequently, I'm returned to my reality.

♥

I clear the tears from my blurry eyes, my mouth gaping open and my throat sore as if I'd been screaming for hours. I blink and glance around, my room looks as if a disaster has struck. My furniture's tipped over, and papers are strewn across the floor. 

A clanging behind me startles me, and Wriothesley busts into my room with intense worry on his face.

"You're here!" He runs over, bending down next to me, "I've been looking everywhere!"

"I..." I can't talk, the whiplash of the previous events rendering me broken. 

I slump into his chest, unable to control the sudden shaking. 

"I was stuck... I saw Neuvillette." I manage to recount some bits of my experience and Wriothesley listens intently.

"Neuvillette's been gone for a couple of hours now, are you sure?" He says, mystified about my story. 

Nodding, I feel different from before. He doesn't say anything about my ability's origins or my potential past.

"Wriothesley, can we go to the surface?" 

I lean back up and make eye contact, he has a look on his face that I can probably predict his next words.

"You know I can't, but, I agree it would be beneficial to investigate above—only if Archie is with you, however."

My eyes are as wide as an owl's, "You're letting me go? Really?"

There's only so much we can do underground, and it means I can also ask Neuvillette about whether his presence was real. I wonder whether Wriothesley trusts Neuvillette, I'd assume not as much as Archie if he'd send him with me. 

Wriothesley nods with a slight smile, "After all, we don't know whether you are the criminal they say you are."

At this point, it seems likely. If Wriothesley believes that too, hope builds inside of me. I grin at him, unable to contain my happiness at being able to leave for a while. 

♥

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