Chapter Text
Blood was sprayed along the young’s girl clothes, her gaze lifted towards the murderer of a man who tried to protect her, her father. The little girl could feel the tears falling down her eyes as she saw a not compatible with life injury in the middle of her father’s chest. He gave her his last smile, even on the brink of death he tried to cheer her up, then his hands felt cold and the girl was getting ready for the inevitable.
She was going to be killed as well.
As the murder reached out to her small vulnerable, absolutely shaking cold body to put that knife through her chest as well she heard a loud “poof” and the man fell to his side with an injury through his ribs that made him convulse onto the ground mumbling curses as he dropped his knife to the side may be in the last attempt to get her but she’d never know… no one will…. Then the world faded away.
~*~
Lumine looked out her window into the night sky in an attempt to brush that horrible nightmare again. She never ever wanted to live again through the time when her father died, but no matter how many years passed “it’s already been 16 years” she thought the horrible nightmare came back into her life every now and then.
She jumped off the window onto her linoleum floor and took a few deep breaths. She can go through this, just sometimes she will be considered a bit of a freak staring out her window late at night.
But that’s bearable.
Lumine heard a quiet almost rhythmical knock on to the wooden door, a smile went across her sweet pink lips that were slightly chapped from her sitting by the window too much. Lumine happily but quietly skipped around the room towards the door and opened it.
Behind it was no other than Childe.
He was a pleasant sight to see. Long time ago, maybe when she was about 14 he completely overgrew her and from that time on he was towering over her small figure. No one would consider Lumine short for a female, she was about 163 cm tall and with all the intimidation that she had most of the people believed that she was at least 180. Childe on the other hand was very soft, maybe a bit of a playboy but nothing more than that, he cared for the stray cats, he made toys for kids basically a perfect father figures for all those children who lost their fathers in a war about 16 years ago. He was 14 at the time, serving as the castle maid of a sort.
His father wasn’t enlisted into the military because he lost his leg a few years prior in another war. Childe became close to the royal family, his loyalty, dedication, bubbly but slightly melancholic personality couldn’t not attract a royal family. He was also cunning and supportive when needed. But the one member who couldn’t get her eyes of him was her.
Lumine.
She was about 6 years old when they first met. To be completely honest and something Childe would never admit to at first she was annoying. She always asked him to play with her, always bossed him around because she was “the princess”. It drove Childe nuts but he couldn’t do anything about it his family needed that money support from him to survive, he couldn’t just flunk out because “the princess” is annoying.
But like any other Childe, she grew and her personality changed. Childe would never ever consider the girl’s father died. The entire family was in constant worry and disappointment; all of them were constantly running around, doing their business, taking care of everything in the kingdom left without a proper ruler. That is when the girl matured.
She stopped being needy, annoying, she was rather quiet and consistent. She tried to help her mother( as much as an 8-year-old could, mostly just helping with taking the folders out and bringing them to her mother but it was better than nothing). Childe started warming up to the girl that he once found disturbing and needy. It all started when he once approached her when she was playing with her dolls and dragons, recreating some scene from a book she recently read. “Can I join mademoiselle?” She looked at him with a bit of fear was he joking? I hope not, then shyly and slowly nodded and gave him a big honest smile that made his heart awe-struck she was very cute.
After that day they played a lot of dragons and dolls, and soldiers and wars games, she even made him attend a tea party with their cat once.
Nevertheless, the time flew by and both of them aged.
When Lumine was about 14 Childe got his first girlfriend, which really annoyed Lumine because (even though she’d never admitted to it) she really liked the attention Childe was giving her, she was closer to him emotionally than to her brother or mother who was always busy with politics and ruling which she was highly disinterested in.
His first relationship ended abruptly and depressingly when his girlfriend cheated on him with his brother. Childe already moved out of the house into the castle a year back so not talking to his brother and his new girlfriend wasn’t a problem of his.
Lumine was there for him when Childe’s love betrayed him. That was probably the first time some spark went between them.
The way her short arms wrapped around his shoulders when he broke down in front of her, the way her brows saddened, and at that moment he felt he never ever wanted to let her go… it felt wrong, but he wanted that.
She didn’t let go of him that evening, both of them fell asleep on the floor, with her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her shirt soaking wet from his tears, he’d never cry in front of her again he felt happy with her.
Childe tried dating a few more times after that about a year or so later after his first failed attempt. He could never get over Lumine though, but she was so much younger than him, how could he feel this weird feeling in his heart when she is around?
Lumine was a smart girl and she almost immediately noticed how much his attitude changed towards her after that night.
She said nothing.
Lumine was never open about her thoughts, and what she thought or believed in, Childe was no exception to that rule despite being Lumine’s closest friend. Lumine’s demons always got a hold of her, which led her to never trusting anyone on the inside even though it seemed so on the outside. Lumine’s confident walking style, kindness in her big amber eyes.
It was all a lie.