10

There were wizards that specialized in poisons, but they were somewhat rare, given that poison was equally as dangerous in the hands of simpleton as it was in the hands of a wizard.

A wizard was just able to come up with a more creative method of delivery.

…Which could account for the slow, steady infection and the fact that Ye Chenzhou was somehow still alive.

Eirian finished off a delectable fruit tart, sweet and sour and sharp and smooth on her tongue. What the Camelia lacked in looks, it made up for in the kitchens.

Eirian needed to eat almost half her weight a day to keep her magic at full strength, but trying to convince anyone without magic of that was nearly impossible. Her father hadn't cared enough to pay attention to her eating habits, but Brigitta had never failed to comment on it during every meal they'd shared.

Eirian had stopped eating with her barely a month after she'd married her father and refused to do so again even when Brigitta had resorted to demanding her father order Eirian to return to their table.

Eirian had figured out as a child that if she ate to little or went to long without food that her magic would eat away at the rest of her for fuel. She'd be gaunt and emancipated in a matter of a few days.

A plate with a slice of layered chocolate cake and blood red berries replaced the empty one and Eirian's mouth watered.

It tasted like heaven.

A dainty cup of strong coffee laced with cinnamon and chili joined it. That was a drink common in the lands west of the Spine of the World.

"You certainly have eclectic tastes," She commented.

Chenzhou, sipping his own cup, nodded to the other guests. "The Armies of the Camelia have crossed the entirety of the Rock to defend Sorrow. They have brought back more than just metal and mineral. An army," he said, "Is the most cultured body on the rock."

Eirian leaned back in her seat, a fancy high backed thing that wasn't all that comfortable when she wasn't leaning forward to eat, "You've never left this place, though?"

Chenzhou shook his head, "All our conflicts in my lifetime have been with the tribes in the borderlands."

"What are they like?"

"They are…wild. They refuse to recognize anyone's authority but their own and yet they cling to their practices and traditions like they are the very rock on which they live. They have not changed in thousands of years, and they do not see a problem with it."

"Is there a problem with that?" Eirian asked, as her coffee was refiled, and a plate of cheese and fruit was placed in front of her.

Chenzhou got one two and made no move to stop her when she took his. "I suppose it depends on how you feel about progress. How big you want your world to be."

Eirian mused over a slice of aged cheddar and sweet apple, "And you think we have the right to tell others how big their world should be?"

Chenzhou tilted his head thoughtfully, "Do you think we should allow others to wallow in suffering when we have learned a better way?"

"What's better for one is not always better for another." Eirian had excelled at arguing with her philosophy tutors in the capital. "Who decides who's right?"

"The king," Chenzhou offered the closest thing to a smirk she'd seen so far.

It was interesting that his mind remained so sharp despite the strength of the miasma and the clear weakness of his body.

Eirian let it drop to listen to the toasts that signaled the end of the night, polishing off both plates before standing and accepting Chenzhou's hand.

He led her through the dark halls, the miasma gathered in the corners everywhere she looked.

He stopped at an ornate door of red wood, covered in carvings of flowers and stars. He released her hand and gave a deep bow.

"No wedding night?" Eirian murmured, trying to understand this strange, strange man.

That faint blush came back to Chenzhou's cheeks. "Would you like-"

Eirian sneered, "No. Obviously that was a test. If you try and touch me-"

"I have no interest in touching you," Chenzhou's own temper flared. "I told you, you are here to help me elevate-"

"The Camelia. Right." It was reassuring, Eirian would have to worry about fighting off a husband who thought he had rights.

But it did prick at her ego just a bit. That he was so clearly not interested in her in anyway.

"Is there someone I should know about? In your bed?" She clarified. "Surprises are not welcome."

"Likewise," Chenzhou returned evenly.

"There is no one in my bed currently." Eirian stated. Not since Philip had slipped into another's.

Chenzhou's jaw worked, but eventually he forced out. "There is someone. She has been with me since we were teenagers. Her name is Anna."

"What family is she from?"

"None of note. Her father was a general, a confidant of my father. We grew up together. She is the love of my life."

Eirian raised an eyebrow, "Then why haven't you married her? This far out, the court wouldn't be able to do much to stop you." Short of the king or queen involving themselves directly.

"She loves the Camelia as much as I, but our marriage would do nothing to benefit it."

Interesting, Eirian thought. A woman turning down marriage to a powerful man convinced he was in love with her.

Who was this Anna?

"I will not betray her," Chenzhou warned. "And she is not to be harmed in anyway."

It was the first time there was actual power in his words.

Not that it was strong enough to scare Eirian. It was actually kind of adorable. Like a tiny puppy trying to intimidate a bear.

She managed not to laugh in his face, but just barely. "I have no interest in harming the innocent. As long as she understands the situation."

"She is well aware."

"Good. Then we have no issue." Eirian flung the doors open with a burst of magic, swept through, and slammed them in his face.

She heard him stomp away, further down the hall, and waiting until she could no longer hear him before looking around.

They stacked all her bags and trunks by the door, but it didn't look like they'd tried to go through any of them.

How polite, she mused.

The room was huge, and several doors led to several smaller rooms. It was an entire apartment it seemed, beginning with this large seating room filled with several chairs, tables, a couch, and a huge fireplace.

The first door led to a large walk-in closet filled with shelves and rods. It might actually fit her entire wardrobe.

The second door led to the bedroom, taken up by a huge four poster bed draped in curtains, a fainting couch and several decorative screens. There was a series of full-size mirrors next to a make-up desk.

At the very least, the bed looked insanely comfortable.

The third room was an empty library. There was nothing else it could be with three floors worth of mostly empty shelves, an ornate writing desk, and even a corner with a easel and stool in front of a floor to ceiling window.

It was too dark to see much outside, but she could make out the edges of the other castles and towers and the moon was distant in the sky. The paints had all dried beyond the point of saving, but Eirian could order more.

The fourth room was a luxurious bath that seemed out of place in a military fortress. One of the Ye ancestors must have taken a partner from somewhere else in the kingdom and brought them here. They must have designed the bath themselves. The toilet was sectioned off directly next to the door. A clawfoot tub deep enough to drown in was placed under a window in a roof and next to a long sink.

But beyond that, through a pair of glass double doors was another tub, built on a patio. She crouched down, there was a flat fire pit underneath.

It was hot tub, she realized, thrilled.

~ tbc