97

"What the fuck is she doing?" Yuze, Li, and several guards darted forward as Eirian stepped into the manor. They'd been too distracted planning the search to notice her approach the front door and had only looked over at the noise of the door opening.

They'd been too stunned to do anything for the moment it took her to step inside, and now she was out of sight, completely engulfed by the shadows of Song Manor.

"Oh my god." Anna gasped and pulled Marian back when the older woman stepped forward to follow Eirian.

Chenzhou, Zhao, and Fox sprinted for the steps, but by the time they reached the doorway, Eirian was gone. 

"Where'd she go?" Chenzhou peered inside, but what little he could see clearly showed no sign of Eirian.

"Damn it, who let her wander off?" One of Li's guards snapped, turning on his fellow soldiers.

"Why would she go in alone after hearing all those stories?" One of them snapped right back. 

Because Eirian likely didn't take them seriously, Chenzhou thought. Educated in the capital, she probably didn't put much stock in the superstitions of the borderlands. She was new to the region, new to the role, new to the Camelia. And her first months had been focused on destroying the miasma. She may have been reading the Histories, but she hadn't had any experience with the actual people of the place yet. And those people, for good or ill, included the tribes in the borderlands, because you couldn't understand the Camelia without understanding the people she'd been fighting for hundreds of years. 

Part of it is his fault, he knows. She only came to the Camelia because of him.

Well, he and her father, but even since she woke up, she's been friendlier so hopefully she's not telling her cousin and uncle to execute him every time she writes them.

He's still happy to make it up to her. He hasn't actually changed his mind about any of the plans he had that include her, since running the Camelia is incredibly challenging, and it needed a proper lady regardless of his health.

Anna had never expressed any interest in that role. She hadn't even encouraged him when he'd been planning to propose years ago. In fact, she'd been so quietly discouraging that he'd dropped all his plans, content to just have her by his side privately.

She lacks the drive Eirian clearly has, the desire to lead, to take charge, to fight. She has other qualities that Chenzhou highly values: her kindness, her patience, and her ability to be graceful and polite in any circumstance. It makes her an incredible woman, but she would struggle if she'd allowed him to propose back then and actually become the First Lady of the Camelia. 

And he's not sure the struggle would have been worth it for her. Anna wanted a peaceful life, despite her upbringing in a successful family; she hated the chaos and violence of power struggles and money. She'd been heartbroken when two of her brothers had turned on one another over their inheritance, and she'd removed herself from her family register entirely, afraid she'd get dragged into it. 

Her siblings were still fighting over it as far as Chenzhou knew and it had been years since Anna had spoken to any of them.

Perhaps that's something she and Eirian had in common. Families torn apart by greed and ambition. Their reactions may differ, but both of them were hurt by it.

Anna had walked away, but Eirian still seemed to be on the fence. She didn't talk about returning to the capital, but she was in such frequent contact with her cousin that it was clear she was still involved in whatever game was being played. 

Chenzhou wasn't sure which of them had taken the correct path for the situation. Despite being born in a wealthy, normal family, there had never been anyone for Chenzhou to fight with it over. No one trying to take his position or rank. 

While it should have been reassuring, and to a point it was, it was mostly lonely. 

Chenzhou would have given anything for a sibling to fight with growing up. The closest he'd come was Yuze, who was too professional to completely forget their difference in status. 

Eirian at least had a brother. Granted, that situation was more fraught than Chenzhou would have been comfortable with himself. The poor babe was going to suffer more than anyone else in the fight his father and mother had started. 

….

Perhaps it was a good thing Chenzhou was an only child. He's not sure he'd have the heart to fight a sibling over anything. 

The interior of the Song Manor is dark and still. There's no sign of Eirian's presence or her magic. She'd use it if she were in danger, of that Chenzhou is sure. She hasn't had any issue using it so far, despite the attention it brings. 

Li directs half the guards to search the perimeter of the house, but hesitates to cross the threshold.

"We need to find her." Zhao Mingzhe is more animated than Chenzhou has ever seen him. It reminded him of the meeting where Eirian displayed her magic for the first time. How Mingzhe was the only one brave enough to approach. 

The enraptured expression he'd worn as he did. 

Chenzhou hadn't paid it any mind then, but maybe he should have. 

Mingzhe is famously single and has remained so despite the impressive efforts of some of the most beautiful and wealthy women in the Camelia. There'd even been a female tribal leader who'd tried to woo him a few years back with the heads of his enemies, and he hadn't even given her a second look. 

Of course, then she'd become his enemy, and now she was one of the chief opponents of the Crimson Army whenever they went into battle. 

Chenzhou almost, almost regrets not listening to the Court and forcing Mingzhe to marry her. 

But he's learned his lesson with forcing those kinds of things now. 

He isn't going to intervene if Eirian decides she wants Mingzhe. Everyone deserves to have someone who loves them. 

~ tbc