Chapter Text
Jean started rubbing the chalkboard with her thumb, not bothering to even look at her glove as it erased the writing on it.
Days since Klee’s last solitary confinement sanction: 2
Klee pouted, trying to keep her tears from falling from her eyes. She would argue that the fish deserved it for looking at Razor funnily.
Albedo says she always has a right to defend herself in a court of law and Jean is the highest law there is at the moment, right? But Klee won’t do that. She’s a good girl. And she’s more determined to not give Miss Lisa a reason to tease her like she teases Amber sometimes.
Jean picked up a piece of chalk but her hand faltered before she let it fall on the chalkboard. She groaned and turned to Klee, a hand on her hip, “Should I even write back the zero when I know, as soon as you’re out of solitary confinement, you’ll get up to your usual troublemaking again?”
Klee didn’t understand a whole lot of it but the click in Jean’s tongue was enough to make her shiver.
Amber was right. Jean can be really scary while doing nothing.
“Klee is very sorry, Master Jean,” she whimpered, shifting her weight from her toes to her heels “Klee is very very very sorry that she used her bombs to not protect Mondstadt and herself like she’s told to only do.”
Lisa giggled, leaning over the rails of the bookshelf platform, “Are you sure, little Spark Knight? This is already the third time you got reprimanded this month, you know.”
“Yes, I am very sorry, like… this sorry!” she opened her arms wide vertically, prompting Jean to groan and Lisa to laugh again
“Well, you saw it there, Grandmaster, the young Spark Knight is very sorry indeed.” Lisa cooed, looking over fondly at Jean with her chin on her palm, “No harm done, right? Razor had Lord Andrius frost over the burning trees and no civilians were at the site,”
Klee nodded at Lisa then nodded at Jean, “Yes yes! Razor’s rupi- lupi… lupical, he helped! No one got hurt but the fish and Razor needed those to eat!” she fiddled with her fingers, “So… Klee doesn’t have to go to solitary confinement again, right?”
“That’s not the point, Klee.” Jean said pointedly, “You still went against our rules, didn’t you? No fish blasting, you could get hurt or seriously damage your environment! What could’ve happened had Andrius not listened to Razor’s pleas? Wolvendom could be in flames right now! You and Razor could’ve gotten hurt badly! Do you know how dangerous Pyro vision burns can be compared to regular fire burns?”
Tears finally fell from Klee’s eyes as she imagined all of that happening. Razor without food or a home, and very very mad at Klee. She knew now that she deserved this scolding, yet she still bitterly thought to herself, Albedo wouldn’t scold Klee like this.
“I’m sorry.” Klee whimpered, wiping away the tears from her puffy face, “I’m very very very sorry, Grandmaster Jean.”
“Jean, dearest, I think you scared her well already,” Lisa said.
Klee gasped a little when she felt her arms around her, but didn’t resist as she pulled her close.
“Now little Klee, don’t cry. No harm done, right? Razor and Wolvendom are all well.” Lisa kept cooing, helping her wipe away her tears with a handkerchief that seemingly came from nowhere
“Lisa, she won’t learn until she gets in her head the repercussions of abusing our lenience to her freedom,” Jean’s tone came in a snap, a little exhausted at the edge
And Klee must only be imagining it, but the air near her and Lisa felt… sharper?
Lisa pulled away and gave Klee a smile, handing her handkerchief over, “Klee, why don’t you wait outside while I talk to Jean, hmm? I promise you if you behave and stay put out there, I’ll make sure Jean doesn’t put you away again.”
Klee lit up, “Really?”
“Lisa- “
“Yes, really.” Lisa nodded, petting her head “Now hop along, I promise we won’t be long.”
Klee took one look at Jean’s exhausted expression and Lisa’s smile and decided she might not want to insist on staying even if she had every right to. Albedo did say any conversation about her, she has the right to stand in to listen.
But she did hop away, closing the door behind her.
“Remember Klee, I’m only telling you these in the case scenario you’re brought before the Grandmaster to answer to the law. Although I’m sure you’re still below the age of criminal liability here in Mondstadt.”
“What’s the age for ‘criminal liability’ then?”
“You’re 9 and if I remember it right, the age of criminal liability in Mondstadt is 18.”
“Oh, so does that mean you can legally be a criminal then, Albedo? You’re much much older than 18 now, aren’t you!”
“Um, Klee, I think you misunderstood what ‘criminal liability’ means.”
“ No, I didn’t! That’s what Mona says it means!”
“…don’t believe everything Mona says, will you? Especially if it’s anything about the law or money.”
"Eh ? You said Jean is the law and I should always listen to Jean!”
“…I did, didn’t I?”
Klee had been puffed up and glaring at Wood for a while now. He’s been looking at her funny for standing by the Grandmaster’s door the same way he was. Who does he think he is? Klee is a knight just like him! And she has a title! Spark Knight Klee of the Knights of Favonius! No one is suited better to guard the Grandmaster’s door other than Klee!
All the time, she kept her eye on the clock. Sometimes, Albedo told her, it pays to be aware of the passage of time.
Speaking of which, Albedo passed her mind once more. She would occasionally look over the window where Dragonspine’s silhouette is visible from. She thought of him and what would he say about the situation.
Albedo would take her side, no doubt. No one got hurt and Klee technically didn’t break the main rule: no one gets hurt! No wonder why he told her to always trust Lisa, because they’re both smart, and Kaeya says that great minds think alike! That’s why Lisa took Klee’s side!
Speaking of which, Lisa and Jean did, in fact, take a while. There was arguing for a moment, and Klee was taught to never listen in on that.
Then Klee heard Lisa scream in surprise, not in a shocking and scary way, but the same way Eula screams when Amber comes to her office to play dolls with her. So, a happy scream! Klee giggled to herself, imagining Jean and Lisa settling their differences with toys.
Thirty minutes later, Lisa walked out while fixing her dress over her chest. Even all the way below her height, Klee can hear Lisa’s wild heartbeat and barely controlled breathing.
Lisa looked down at Klee’s beaming bug-eyed stare, “Right! Well, I settled things with the Acting Grandmaster, looks like we’re taking a different approach in how we handle your punishments.”
Klee’s face lost its color and she jumped back, “Wait, no Miss Lisa! Please don’t zap Klee into next week!”
“Zap you? Whatever do you…?” Lisa paused, then burst out laughing, “Oh, sweetie! I wouldn’t do that to you! You never borrow books out of the library, after all.”
“Oh.” Klee pursed her lips. Albedo says that’s for good reason, she thought, remembering the day Albedo advised her against taking books out of headquarters when Lisa quite literally did zap an offending overdue book borrower into next week.
Lisa held out her hand. Klee first thought she’d have to return the handkerchief to her, but Lisa put it away and then offered her hand again. “I’ll be the one to administer the punishments from now on. It’ll be a bit of an improvement from being locked up in that barely-used witness quarters, but I trust you find it just as miserable!” Lisa said, too cheerfully for Klee’s comfort
Klee pouted, “As long as Klee never has to stay another boring day in solitary confinement, Klee will be happy!”
Lisa left it at that, leading Klee into the library.
The Favonius Headquarters’ library is open to the public, hence why the signs of its disturbance would usually be obvious with the dust and misplaced books and footprints where it shouldn’t be (“I swear, I could never figure out how people manage to get their footprints on the ceiling.” Lisa mumbled thoughtfully)
It wasn’t obvious when they entered, apparently also to Lisa’s surprise, all thanks to the familiar maid who seems to be busied on one of the tables, surrounded by mounds of books.
“Oh, Miss Lisa and Klee, greetings!” Noelle gasped, hopping off her seat and giving a bow “Noelle! What are you doing here?” Klee grinned toothily, jumping around
Noelle cleared her throat, “Oh, just… doing some light reading, yes.”
Lisa chuckled, picking up one of the books from the pile. “I’d hardly consider The Languages of Old Teyvat: Old to Middle Mondstadtian a piece for light reading.”
“Isn’t that the way Fischl talks sometimes?” Klee cocked her head to the side “Why are you reading about that? Are you gonna start talking like Fischl now too?”
And now Noelle turned pink, lips a little open like she was trying to form an answer. Klee giggled, thinking about how Sucrose reacted the same way when Albedo once asked her why she keeps going to the Church of Barbatos despite not being a practicing believer.
Lisa shook her head, putting the book back down on the table, “Well no matter. I see you’ve made work of the library while I was gone,”
“Oh yes! I tidied up a little bit! Cleaning around lots of books helped me get into the mood of going through so many books myself,” Noelle frowned, “I-Is something the matter?”
“Well actually, I got the Acting Grandmaster to give me rights to decide Klee’s punishment for her most recent fish-blasting incident. Poor girl doesn’t deserve another day of rotting in that old witness quarters,” Lisa sighed, placing a hand on Klee’s head, “I thought I could have Klee here sweep around the library as the punishment, but it seems you’ve already fixed that.”
Klee widened her eyes at Lisa, “Um, Miss Lisa? Klee wouldn’t think that as a punishment.”
“Oh really?”
She nodded, “Albedo always said I should learn to be tidy in my room so I always clean up! I have my own little broom and everything in our dorm! I do it extra squeaky clean so that when Dodoco accidentally falls off my bag, he doesn’t get dirty. I don’t know why Albedo tells me to be tidy when his lab is always messy. Kaeya says he should, um, practice what he teaches, yes!”
Lisa chuckled, patting Klee’s head (hat?) “Well, I still didn’t want Jean scolding you like that.”
Noelle gasped with her hands on her mouth, “I am… sorry, had I known…”
“Oh, it’s alright darling, no need to get flustered for doing otherwise miserable work.” Lisa smiled thoughtfully
“Well if I may,” Noelle offered, gesturing to a fixed pile of books next to her, with a cart of more books behind it, “I think Klee could still do work with these? I found them unhelpful and planned to put them back before I leave, but maybe Klee could do it for the sake of her, um, punishment?”
“Ooh, Klee can do that!” Klee grinned, standing upright again. She turned to Lisa excitedly, “If Klee does this, does that mean Klee is punished and I can go back outside?”
Lisa hummed, tapping her finger on her lips. “Well… I suppose it does fulfill the conditions Jean asked of me.”
Klee cheered. Outside means more fish blasting! I mean- blasting! Normal blasting!
“I’ll get started on it right away!” she gave a salute before running over to the pile of books (with the help of Noelle placing a manageable amount on Klee’s hands) and to get the cart in momentum, “I won’t let you down, Miss Lisa!”
As she zoomed away with the cart, she heard a bit of Noelle and Lisa’s conversation. “So, what is Klee in for this time, if I may ask?”
“Making Razor’s wolf guardian get off his spiritual rocking chair to blow snow over a few burning bushes. I’d argue Jean overreacted, really,”
“Ah, I see.”
“…so, Fischl, hmm?”
“M-Miss Lisa!”
“…and that’s how libraries are organized, including the one here at headquarters. The Dewey Decimal System can be complicated at first glance, but it’s remarkably easy to remember once you’re in the motions of it.”
“So, it’s just numbers?”
“A lot of things are just numbers, really.” “Are we numbers, Albedo?”
“We are defined by the number of our age, so I suppose so.” “On a scale of 1 to 10, we are also defined, right?”
“Yes, you’re correct.”
“On a scale of 1 to 10, where is Klee?” “A 10 for being so wonderful, I think...”
“You too, Albedo! You’re a 20! No no, a 30! Yes! For being the smartest and bestest person ever!”
“That would erase the point of the scale of 1 to 10 then, wouldn’t it?”
“…it does!?”
It was dusk when Klee had finished returning the books needed on the ground floor of the library. Noelle had bidden farewell earlier after leaving more books for Klee to organize. Lisa had long since passed out on her desk, mumbling something about spells and someone named… Sino? Sign-oil?
Klee didn’t really think of her punishment as a punishment. Dodoco was good company, listening to Klee explain how libraries are organized the way Albedo explained it to her once.
Now all that was left were books that needed to be brought up to the second floor.
Klee was careful to only carry enough books for her to bring up without probably rolling off the stairs. She wasn’t Bennett, she’s not used to falling off of high places. (She hopes she never has to get used to it)
“Last one!” she declared with a huff, glaring at the large, heavy book left in the cart
Klee glanced at the spine to read the title, only to realize she can’t. The book is in Old Mondstadtian, and it looked like it too. Das Buch der Ritter von Favonius – 2nd zweite Ära
“Das Butch there Writer von Favonius,” Klee mumbled, looking at Dodoco, who had been helpfully sitting at the front of the cart to help Klee avoid bumping it on shelves and possibly waking up Lisa. “Old people from old times have very weird ways of talking, don’t they, Dodoco?”
Dodoco nodded, or at least said “yes” in a way Klee understood
There was a tag sticking out from its underside, and it read: Second Generation Ordo Favonius staff book.
“This book must belong to the Favonius archive shelf!” Klee thought out loud before shushing herself with a giggle, watching Lisa stir in her sleep from the corner of her eye
Carefully, she hoisted the book on herself and began her trek up the stairs. She could see Dodoco cheering her on. She grinned, remembering what Amber said about her energy having yet to betray her.
Klee waddled up to the archives section with the book in her arm. She climbed up the provided stool and pushed the book under her arm in the hollow wedge it belongs to with a large huff and puff. She grinned as it slid in smoothly.
This is the part she would cheer she was finished but remembered the last person who woke up Lisa from her nap also got zapped into next week.
Miss Lisa must really like using her Vision! Klee does too! But Jean never scolds Lisa like she scolds Klee.
Klee’s train of thought stopped chugga-chugga-chooing in her young brain when she noticed a book upside down on the shelf. Albedo had talked about initiative once, so she took it upon herself to pull it out and place it back in.
Lisa will be able to sleep soundly because all the books here are upright as it should be thanks to me! Klee thought brightly
But just as she pulled out the book, papers fell out of its underside. Flustered, Klee put down the book quickly and bent down to pick it up.
Then she stopped.
What fell out were pictures! Not very old ones either despite the wear in the ink, which was one of the things strange about the pictures.
Klee sat down and picked them up, squinting her eyes to make sense of the aged print. She gasped.
She can make of the scene, the same small shore in Wolvendom that she and Razor went to earlier today. But it was a little later and the sun was already setting, or was that… blonde hair?
It’s Jean! She had the uniform of a regular knight. She was laughing- were those bandages on her? Klee frowned, imagining how worried Lisa must’ve been when she came back from… whatever mission this was.
On her right was a blob of the sea… no, it was Kaeya!
He also had bandages on him, a little less than Jean’s at least. Klee didn’t think that was possible. Kaeya was almost always the knight that ended up with more bandages than the rest. He was sticking his tongue out too, and even then, Klee can tell he was smiling.
On Jean’s left was… a flaming flower? No no, it can’t be.
The weird grown-up!?
No, this can’t be him. Klee was sure of it. This one was wearing a knight uniform and a smile, two things that the weird grown-up never had on him! This one is also very young. Maybe the weird grown-up just has a nicer and happier twin brother?
The light from the nearby window showed writing visible on the back. Klee flipped the photo over. The messy, smudged writing reads:
“Blackwater Operations Conclusion (December 25th ???)
Diluc and Kaeya cheer up Jean while the knights set an investigation perimeter around the area where ??? has been tracked down and cornered previously by the three knights.
Varka came to scold them, after I took this photo, for moving around while sustaining injuries ???
As if these kids didn’t just sled off of headquarters’ roof last Friday! – Alice”