Chapter Text
The Weinlesefest had sprung in full bloom. Springvale Village right outside of Mondstadt city was the host of the festival this year and had decorated the village beautifully: floral wreaths were hung at every door, local businesses set up tents along main street, and there was a lingering scent of sweet wine in the air.
A perfect celebration for the return of the Anemo Archon along with the harvest. Men and women of all stations walked along the streets with their family and friends and children ran in circles as they played. Bards gleefully played their instruments as the villagers danced together in a symphony of laughs, singing, and synchronized footsteps. It was a beautiful sight to see the citizens of Mondstadt enjoy themselves.
Diluc watched it all from his seat inside the royal carriage as they approached the village. His father and Kaeya were joking about who-knows-what as he stared out the window, hoping for a glimpse of someone before he was to make his official appearance.
However, as the carriage approached the front gates, the villagers and attendees of the festival were immediately notified of their arrival with loud trumpets singing the royal song.
The crowd surged towards their carriage, the people of Mondstadt ecstatically waving at them and greeting them. He couldn’t see too far into the crowd anymore and had lost hope of finding her in the crowd. He smiled and waved to the people, but his hand subconsciously grazed over a small box in his coat pocket. He suddenly felt someone swat his hand away from the box and he pulled his hand to his chest, holding his limb away from the attacker.
“Why are you worrying? You have both come to the mutual agreement that you shall marry. This is not a normal proposal where the woman could say no.”
Diluc sighed, “I know,” he paused, “But I want to give her a proposal that could rival anything she could have missed out on.”
Kaeya raised a brow, still waving at the crowd of villagers, while he teased, “It seems like our stone-hearted crown prince is a romantic after all.”
Diluc looked away, choosing to wave at the villagers gathering to greet the royal family.
“You truly care for her… don’t you?”
Diluc chose to ignore his younger brother, choosing not to provide him with more information he can use to tease him with.
Kaeya snorted and whispered, “Diluc is still too shy to talk about his feelings, huh?”
Diluc kicked his brother’s leg and Kaeya surged forward in pain and groaned, “Ow! Father, did you see that? He kicked me!”
“Then don’t patronize me!”
“Stop being a wuss about your feelings and then I’ll stop patronizing your emotional constipation!”
“Why did you have to say it like that!”
“Stop it, both of you!” The king hit both of their abdomens with his cane. Both boys lurched forward, groaning in pain as they held their stomachs. The king pinched his nose in frustration, not believing that his grown sons were still so immature. Yet, he couldn’t hide the laughter that was rising up within him at the absurdity of their behavior.
He bellowed out a rumbling laughter that turned the heads of both sons to their laughing father in shock. Yet, their father’s laughter is contagious and they both laughed along with their father. This chaos lessened Diluc’s nerves and he greeted the villagers through his window a little calmer now. Yet the ring in his pocket and the smile of the woman he will propose to were still on his mind.
While he greeted the crowd, he could not spot the blonde woman occupying his thoughts at all. She wasn’t in the crowd greeting their arrival. He looked beyond the crowd and into the street decorated with kiosks and tents. The local businesses have all set up their merchandise and those who were not waiting for him were buying the goods. She wasn’t at the kiosks. There were people setting up the festival games beyond the street shops, and there was no sign of her there either.
“Stop the carriage,” Diluc ordered the coachman.
“What’s wrong, Diluc?” his father questioned.
“Nothing,” Diluc jumped off the carriage and immediately closed the door, stopping Kaeya from following behind him, “I just decided that I would like to go for a walk. You go on with Kaeya to our tent, I’ll meet with you later.”
Kaeya raised a brow, “And why can’t I go?”
Crepus tugged Kaeya back and smiled at Diluc, “You enjoy yourself, son. Say hello to Jean for me.”
Diluc smiled and playfully saluted before ordering the coachman to continue down the road.
“Come on, I promise I won’t get in the way!”
Diluc rolled his eyes at his brother’s antics before facing the crowd, who were watching him in awe as he approached them. A little girl suddenly broke through the crowd with a flower and toy in her hand and ran towards the Prince. Diluc kneeled on the ground to face her face-to-face, a smile playing on his lips as the girl struggled to look him in the face out of shyness. She wore a red dress with four-leaf clovers decorated all over and elf ears, “Hello, my name is Diluc. What’s your name?”
“Um,” she looked back at her mother. A woman dressed in a red witch’s outfit. Alice, the founder of the Hexenzirkel and a witch of great renown. He recognized her from her frequent meetings with his father and the knights. The woman smiled and urged the little girl to continue.
“Um… My name is Klee. I picked this flower out for you,” she offered the flower to Diluc.
“Thank you, you are most generous,” Diluc smiled.
Upon seeing his bright smile, Klee smiled too, “Can I put it in your hair?”
Diluc nodded and bent down, letting the little girl stuff the cecilia in his hair before she stepped back. She giggled at the sight and clapped her hands, “You look wonderful!”
Diluc laughed, “All thanks to you, Miss Klee. Now I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you.”
Klee nodded her head, “Sure! Klee likes helping!”
“Well, I’m looking for a friend of mine, but I can’t seem to find her at the festival.”
Klee beamed, “I can help you find her! What’s her name?”
“Her name is Lady Jean. She is a tall woman with long, blonde hair. And she’s one of the nicest and most beautiful people you would ever meet.”
Klee nodded determinedly. However, she turned around and found herself with a wall of people, not being able to see beyond their legs. “Um… I don’t think I can help much,” her eyes started tearing up, “Klee can’t see because there are so many tall people!”
“I think I can help with that.”
Diluc suddenly picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. Now Klee could see above the people’s heads and she giggled in excitement. “See, now you can see much farther than before.”
Klee laughed gleefully, “Yes! I can see Mondstadt from way up here!”
Klee extended her hands and felt the wind weave through the town and graced her with a gentle hug.
“Do you think you can find her now?”
Klee nodded and cupped her mouth with her hands and yelled, “Lady Jean!”
Diluc was left speechless as he watched the little girl scream Jean’s name, bringing everyone’s attention to the commotion.
“Come on everybody! Let’s help Diluc find his friend!” Klee urged the villagers.
The villagers all sported a knowing look when Diluc met their gazes. He was sure there was a blush sporting his face.
“Uh, really, you guys don’t have to call for her-”
“Lady Jean!”
---
“The king and the princes have arrived at the festival!”
Voices yelled from all directions, the people dropped what they were doing and swarmed the main street in and out of Springvale for a chance to glance at the princes and the King. Men, women, and children alike waved frantically at the approaching carriage for a chance to be seen by their rulers. The Gunnhildr family sat on a picnic blanket at the top of a hill overlooking the festivities, watching the commotion form as the carriage approached closer and closer with each passing second.
“Let us go greet them!” Barbara insisted immediately standing and wiping away any dirt on her festival outfit before pulling their parents up on their feet. Barbara turned towards her sister and frowned upon seeing her still sitting on the picnic blanket, “Are you not going to greet the king and the princes?”
Jean stayed silent as she sipped her tea and Barbara pushed, “What about Prince Diluc? He’ll be upset if he doesn’t see you waiting for him.”
Jean sighed, hoping to delay having to see the prince as much as possible.
“Lady Jean!”
Jean jumped at the sudden shout for her. It was a small child’s voice screaming through the joyful atmosphere. Suddenly, a wave of voices joined the little girl’s voice and they all called her name.
“Lady Jean!”
Jean looked down at the commotion, seeing Prince Diluc standing at the gate with Klee on his shoulders, the little girl continuing her screams and Diluc frantically talking to her. But it seems that she is not paying him any mind.
“Jean! There you are!”
Amber ran up to her family and grasped her hands into her own. Eula was trailing behind the hyper girl, seeming as though she was wrapped into the search for her by Amber.
“What is going on Amber? Why is everyone calling out my name?”
“Prince Diluc got off his carriage while it was passing by and asked Alice’s daughter, Klee, to help him look for you. Unfortunately for the prince, she screamed out your name and got everyone to join her search for you. He was super embarrassed back there.”
So much for avoiding the prince, she mused.
Jean chuckled at the absurdity of it all before she stood up from her spot on the picnic blanket. She dusted off her dress of any crumbs and she smiled, “Then lead the way. I can’t leave little Miss Klee waiting for me.”
She walked down the hill with Amber, Eula, and Barbara in tow. The villagers that were all calling her name all silenced and began cheering when they saw her approach the front.
“Look Klee!” Alice called out, lifting Klee off of Diluc’s shoulders and pointing at Jean approaching the group, “That’s Lady Jean. You found her for Prince Diluc.”
Klee lit up, “Is that her, Diluc?”
Diluc smiled and nodded, “Yep, that’s her. Thank you so much, Klee.”
Klee smiled and skipped towards Jean. Jean smiled and knelt down to speak with Klee, “Are you the one that has been calling my name?”
Klee nodded, “Yes! My new friend Diluc told me he was looking for you. He told me to look for a ‘tall woman with long, blonde hair put up in a ponytail.’ Oh! And he said that you were the beautifulest and nicest person in the whooooole world!” She exclaimed, extending her arms to either side to emphasize the world she was describing.
Jean smiled, “Oh, did he now?”
She spared Diluc a look, raising her bow in a teasing manner. Although he was blushing out of embarrassment, he didn’t look away. A smile graced his lips and filled her stomach with butterflies. Now she was looking away from him and turned back to Klee, “Well, His Highness flatters me.”
“I think Mr. Diluc is right, though. You are super pretty, Lady Jean!”
Jean placed a kiss on Klee’s head and patted her head, “And you are one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. Thank you for helping me find my friend.”
Klee touched her forehead and grinned, a cute blush on her cheeks as her excitement of making two new friends almost made her burst with excitement.
“Come now, Klee. Let’s leave Prince Diluc to spend time with Lady Jean.”
“Aw, but I wanted to play with my new friends!”
“Some other time, dear. Let us go meet with Diona.”
“Yay! Diona is the best!”
Diluc and Jean smiled as Klee headed towards the festival games with her mother. “She sure knew how to get the job done,” Jean laughed as the little girl ran through the festival and stopped at every kiosk to see what they were offering.
Diluc cleared his throat, “Well, I wasn’t really expecting her to scream your name to find you. I would have preferred if we didn’t garner so much attention.”
Jean took Diluc’s hand in hers, startling Diluc with her sudden movement and he stared at her with surprised, wide eyes. Jean ignored the pang in her heart at his cute expression and tugged him towards the festival.
“But she did her job well, don't you think? Everyone is watching us. If we’re going to make our engagement today believable, then we have to be in love.”
“Yes…that is why I was looking for you…For the engagement…” Diluc trailed off, the ring in his pocket boring a hole in his coat. Jean let go of his hand, sensing that he was uncomfortable and she left Diluc wishing her hand was still in his.
She started walking down the road, “Now I think that we should start with the kiosks. I know a couple of shopkeepers that tend to talk a lot with the customers. If you know what I mean,” Jean winked at Diluc mischievously. She turned around before she could register that Diluc’s cheeks were flushed red.
“Follow me, slowpoke!” Jean rushed Diluc, the redhead not noticing that Jean was already so ahead of him.
Jean led him towards the “With Wind Comes Glory” kiosk. The kiosk was full of festival souvenirs: wooden flutes, lyres, small keychains in the shape of a wine bottle, slivers of gems, a spread of jewelry, and flower crowns.
“Hello, Marjorie! How have you been?” Jean greeted, eyes scanning the spread of merchandise.
“Hello, Lady Jean!” Marjorie greeted with a bright smile. She bowed upon Diluc’s arrival at the kiosk and she offered a knowing look, “Good afternoon, Your Highness. What an honor to have your patronage on such a special day.”
Diluc nodded, “Thank you Marjorie. How is your father doing? I’ve heard of the great things Cyrus is doing in the Mondstadt branch of the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Marjorie beamed and began on a rant of her father’s recent adventures and the newest stock of souvenirs she obtained because of her father’s feats. Diluc listened intently, though he was also attentive to anything that Jean observed. Jean lifted a piece of a cyan gem, her eyes widening at how the light was caught in the gem’s many facets and reflected on surfaces.
“I see the Vayuda sliver caught your eye,” Marjorie interrupted herself when she saw Jean’s attention in the gym. Diluc was also interested and he leaned into Jean’s space to get a good look at the rock.
“It’s beautiful!” Jean exclaimed, “It plays with the light so uniquely, but I feel like it is so familiar.”
“That would be because the gem is infused with the power of anemo,” Marjorie explained, “It is said that these gems such as these were blessed by the anemo archon themselves and hold anemo within its crystalline structure. Since you have anemo vision, there is no doubt that it reacted to your vision.”
Jean observed the rock closely, “I do get what you are saying about it reacting to my vision, but it’s familiar to me in a different sense. But how?”
Suddenly, she turned her head towards Diluc. He was looking intensely at the flower crowns, not noticing the blonde closing in on his neck. She grabbed his tie, pulling him towards her as she fixated on the accessory on his neck.
“Excuse me-”
“I thought so!”
Diluc blinked, “Thought what?”
Jean pulled on Diluc’s accessory into his field of vision and presented the Vayuda gem for him to see, “The gem on your tie pin reflects light just like this sliver. Is it made out of the same kind of gem, but it reacts to pyro instead of anemo elemental energy? That’s why it is always glowing, it’s reacting to your vision!”
Diluc was startled into silence, instead finding himself distracted by Jean’s close proximity and how her eyes reflect the lights better than any gem that has been pushed into his face. Despite the glowing gems before him shining in the midday sun so brightly, he can’t help but think that the brightest gems are the bright blue eyes staring up at him as she rambles about the gems. He didn’t even register what she was saying as she pulled away, smiling and laughing away with Marjorie. Yet, he cannot tear his eyes away from the rock that so brightly glowed in her presence. “I’ll take one of each cut of the Vayuda crystal, a necklace, a brooch, and a pair of earrings for the lady.”
Marjorie widened her eyes at the huge order and quickly got to work packing the precious jewels. Jean grabbed onto his arm, “Honey,” she awkwardly started, “What are you doing? This is too much!”
Diluc smiled, “The crystal’s shine is the only thing I have ever seen that came close to your beauty, I had to buy it. Though, I may have gone overboard.”
“May have?” Jean scoffed sarcastically, a blush spreading on her cheeks from Diluc’s compliment. However, before she could put up much of a fight about the big purchase, she was dragged away by Marjorie for her to pick from the multiple necklace designs she had.
As the beautiful lady scanned the designs detailed in a catalog, Diluc leant into Marjorie’s side, whispering something beyond Jean’s reach and she couldn’t help but wonder what her future fiancee would be whispering in the store clerk’s ear.
---
The rest of their day was spent walking the kiosks, parading through the village like a bunch of show horses. The populace ate them up. Single women looked at them with desire, single men looked at them with jealousy, mothers watched them with intrigue, fathers watched them with approval, and the elderly watched them with smiles painting their faces.
They were the talk of the festival while the drunkards shared their drinks with the crowd. Children would offer the couple random trinkets. Klee found them while they walked around and she offered them a windwheel aster that she picked from Windrise. Another child named Razor, who was recently adopted by her uncle Varka, offered a wolfhook berry. Barbara herself offered a couple of sweet flowers. They were almost perfect ingredients for their own bottle of wine to celebrate the festival.
“I think I have found the perfect ingredient to finish our brew.”
Jesan raised a brow, “Oh, what do you suggest?”
Diluc grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers, “You’ll have to follow me to find out.”
Diluc basically dragged her away from the festival, poor Jean trailing behind him and frequently stumbling on her steps. They were leaving everyone behind, the people raised quizzical brows at their premature departure from the festival. Good, she thought, we’re getting their attention as we leave so he is probably going to propose now. However, they were heading farther and farther from the festivities, climbing up the cliffs surrounding Springvale higher and higher. They climbed until they reached the top of a cliff that overlooked the entire festival, the town of Springvale, and the city of Mondstadt. Up there sprouted a singular dandelion flower. The yellow petals were bright and perky as though it had just bloomed. Jean let go of Diluc’s hand and approached the flower, picking it from the plant and admired the petals. She was always fascinated by the flower. “You made the right choice, Your Highness-”
Diluc was on one leg as she turned around, startling her into dropping the flower. Oh, it’s happening. Below them, she could hear the gasps of the people as they gathered to watch the spectacle. She lifted her hands to her face in surprise as Diluc pulled a velvet box from his coat pocket, opening it to reveal a beautiful golden band with a beautifully cut agnidus agate gemstone, the same gem on his tie pin, sitting in the center surrounded by diamond encrusted arms hugging it in place.
“Lady Jean Gunnhildr, firstborn daughter of the Gunnhildr clan, I, Crown Prince Diluc Ragnvindr of the Ragnvindr clan and the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Mondstadt, have been enamored by our time spent together. Your intelligence, beauty, and kindness is unmatched. I humbly lay myself down on one knee and ask for your hand in marriage and for you to become the queen of this powerful, everlasting Kingdom.”
Her heart beat in her chest and, although this wasn’t a real proposal, her cheeks flushed and her stomach felt like it was going to explode. This was the moment that all of their efforts the past couple of weeks led up to. She had no choice, she was going to accept the proposal per their agreement, but she found herself hesitating at this culmination of all their preparation.
Yet she found peace when looking into Diluc’s eyes. Those crimson eyes reflecting the sun’s rays just so that she saw endless, bright, enticing shades of red that she has never seen before. And although he was also visibly nervous, there was something calming about his gaze meeting hers. She found that his very presence is comforting. She nodded, extending her hand to him so that he may place the ring on her finger, and announced, “I, Lady Jean Gunnhildr, firstborn daughter of the Gunnhildr clan, accept your marriage proposal, Crown Prince Diluc Ragnvindr of the Ragnvindr clan and the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Mondstadt.”
Diluc offered a blinding smile and Jean took his hand, lifting him from his knee and they intertwined both hands together. Raucous cheers rang from the festival, the people having witnessed the engagement of the prince of their kingdom and a most beloved lady. They both waved to the crowd, big smiles on their faces and relief washing over them from the event that weighed on their mind the whole day. Suddenly, cheers were replaced with a loud demand. They couldn’t hear the phrase properly and they struggled to make out what the people were saying.
“Do you know what they’re saying?” Jean asked.
Diluc shook his head, “No idea.”
“They’re demanding that you two kiss!” Kaeya yelled from behind them.
The two turned towards the teasing younger brother who suddenly made his appearance. He was sitting atop a horse, trotting over to them, no doubt ready to tease them both of the act they are about to do. Jean tightened her hold on Diluc, too shy to ask him to go through with the request of the people, but hoping that he would so they would finish what they started the night before.
Diluc sighed and returned his gaze to Jean, “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Jean nodded and squeezed his hand again before leaning in. Diluc’s hands suddenly placed themselves on her cheeks, his warmth penetrating her and she wasn’t sure whether the warmth was coming from him or from her own embarrassment. He pulled her closer and Jean closed her eyes, puckering her lips for the Prince to finally join their lips together.
However, he stopped millimeters before her and held her there. The crowd cheered from below, too far to tell that they were, in fact, not kissing. To Jean’s dismay, Diluc pulled away without ever having pressed his lips onto hers and she felt disappointed at the second almost kiss between them.
She pouted and she turned her head away from him, crossing her arms as they departed from the dangerous cliffside, the two no longer under the vigilant eye of the people of Mondstadt. However, she was quickly swept away as Diluc lifted her onto Kaeya’s horse and he also mounted the steed in the spot in front of her.
“What are you doing?!” Jean yelled, startled at the sudden act.
Diluc spurred the horse forward, “I would like to take you somewhere, hold on tight.”
Jean did as she was told when the horse broke into a sprint, holding onto Diluc’s waist tightly as he led the horse away from the festivities in the town and into the fields of Mondstadt. They rode for almost half-an-hour before they stopped by Windrise. Diluc dismounted the horse, but kept Jean in her place. “What is going on?”
Diluc procured a piece of cloth from his pocket and motioned for her to bend her head lower. She did as she was told despite the suspicious behavior because she trusted him more than anyone else at the moment.
“I have a surprise for you,” Diluc vaguely explained.
“If I didn’t know any better,” Jean teased, “I would have thought that you were kidnapping me.”
Diluc chuckled and mounted the horse once more, urging the horse into a gallop as he headed towards their destination. Finally, after another ten minutes, they stopped.
“We’re here,” he announced and sequentially dismounted.
Before Jean could attempt to dismount the horse herself, Diluc grabbed her by the waist and guided her off the horse. She placed her hands on his forearms to steady herself, but she didn’t let go even after her legs were firm on the ground.
“You ready?” he whispered, as though there was an audience with them in this secluded área he took her to. She nodded. Diluc leaned in and untied the cloth covering her eyes. She blinked at the intense brightness of the setting sun, holding onto the prince still to gather her bearings.
After a couple of seconds she needed to get her vision sorted, she gasped at the sight before her. She stood in the center of a sea of blooming dandelions. Dandelions surrounded her as far as her eye could see. Fresh air filled her lungs with happiness. A sea of gold laid at her feet, a picnic set up a couple feet before her and Diluc kneeled there on one knee once more. She gasped once more at the realization that the prince was kneeling before her for the second time that day.
“Jean,” he started, his speech already missing the rigidity and script-like nature of the first proposal, “While I do know that I just proposed to you not even an hour ago, I felt that it was necessary to do this separate proposal.”
Jean’s breath hitched as he fished out another ring in his coat pocket.
He opened it to reveal a ring with the same gem they were looking at earlier. Her mouth fell open, realizing that this had to have been what he discussed with Marjorie in secret.
“Jean. Despite our engagement having been planned from corruption and misunderstanding, I have grown to care for you deeply. Over time, I have found my thoughts to be constantly plagued by you. Your sarcasm, your laugh, your intellect, your skill, and your beauty haunt me. I want nothing more than to be by your side. I don’t know if this is love, all I know is that I’m extremely lucky to be forced to marry a woman like you. In fact, I do know this is love because I wouldn't want anyone else to be my wife.”
Tears sprouted from Jean’s eyes and she wiped them away, smiling brightly at Diluc’s confession.
“The first proposal was for the people of Mondstadt to have a story to tell, but this proposal is for us. For our golden memories of our story. I do not know if this is what you want from our marriage,” Diluc paused, his voice shaking due to his nerves, “But I would like this marriage to be real. Our courtship has not been normal, but I fell in love with you all the same. Jean Gunnhildr, would you please marry me? For real?”
She giggled, covering her mouth as she processed what had just happened. She extended her hand to him, nodding frantically yelling, “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you!”
Diluc beamed, placing her second ring above the first, the complementary colors shining brightly together as they embraced tightly. “I have found myself to be fond of your presence as well, Diluc.”
He pulled away, keeping her in his embrace, to stare at her face. He pushed a strand of hair away from her face, a small tear sliding down her cheek. He kissed her cheek, wiping the tear with a gentle press of his lips. He found the blush spreading on her cheek addicting so he offered another kiss to her cheek. He placed his forehead on hers, breathing in their shared air. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her impossibly closer to her and he hovered his lips over hers, temptation tearing his self-control to shreds.
“May I?” he whispered, his lips brushing hers.
“Please,” she whispered back immediately, having waited for this moment longer than she herself knows. And finally, after ages of want, their lips pressed together in a graceful meeting.