It seemed like all of the Camelia had come out to see them off and it occurred to Chenzhou that he'd never gotten around to introducing Eirian to the people of the estate. Aside from that dinner after their wedding and bringing her to some of the meetings, only the court had met her and even then, unless she'd been meeting them without his knowledge.
She didn't seem like the type.
Though it was still hard to believe that his death wasn't lurking around the corner, and he wasn't sure he believed it as much as he wanted to, Eirian had taken on an almost god-like visage in his mind.
All he'd wanted was a wife that would care for the Camelia when he was gone. Someone who knew the capital well enough to maybe bring the Camelia back into the fold, because the last few Ye lords had let it stagger off by itself as it bled out.
At best, he'd thought nothing would change in the Camelia with his passing. The same slow decay would carry on.
He hadn't expected a young woman who'd taken one look and seen what no one else could. And in such a surprising package. Not that she wasn't pretty, she was striking with the Soliel coloring and the strength and definition in her muscle that proved she spent as much time with a sword as she did with book.
She was Chenzhou's age, but she carried herself like she was far older. More worldly. And it gave her an air of not mystery per say, the way characters in Anna's novels were always described. There was nothing mysterious about Eirian, as she saw no need to hide anything from the world.
Even riding out to meet the crowds of the Camelia, she excluded a wild kind of power and a steady confidence that most would envy. The Camelia had little interest in fashion, yet Eirian continued to wear the most fashionable cuts popular in the capital. Often mixed with colorful takes on the tradition robes the population of the Camelia had inherited from their neighbors to the East.
It added to the striking image she made. Old and new, power and elegance, a wild freedom unhindered by the rest of the world's attempts to control it. As someone born so close to the throne, Eirian must have known the true strength that came with that kind of power. Must have felt it weighing down on her everyday of her life even if she didn't want it for herself.
That she'd grown to be such a strong, confident, independent person despite that weight. Capable of caring about Chenzhou's people even after he'd essential bought her without her knowledge, something he still felt terrible for. He'd never be able to make it up to her, but he owed her an apology to her face. He just had to work up the courage. Find the words to explain beyond what she already knew that he'd been desperate and dying and looking for some kind of hope for everyone he was leaving behind.
And that hope was currently wearing a pink and gold leather riding outfit cut to show off her figure as much as it was to allow her to ride comfortably. Her hair was twisted up in dozens of braids and wrapped around her head like a crown.
Upon which an actual crown sat. A ring of golden suns that had been the first to arrive of a massive shipment of her belongings from Prince Eric. Eirian had ordered Marian and the Head Butler to empty one of the rooms next to hers so she could expand her rooms to include a jewelry vault.
Chenzhou had no idea why a woman needed a vaults worth of different kinds of jewelry, but Marian was generally knowledgeable about that kind of thing and had been fully supportive of the idea.
And she was smart and kind and Chenzhou would probably have supported her if she tried for the crown for herself, which seemed unlikely with how close she was to her cousin.
Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. She'd destroyed the miasma. The whole of the Camelia felt lighter, warmer, but they hadn't had time to actually deal with the day to day leading of the Camelia.
And now they were headed out on what was probably going to be a two-week journey to Tira-Lian. There'd be a pile of work waiting for them, but Chenzhou couldn't resist the desire to learn more about his mother and the miasma that had plagued the Camelia.
What if it came back? What if it wasn't really gone? Or as soon as Eirian decided to leave, because Chenzhou would never stop her if she decided to, and it was just waiting for her to be gone?
What if something else befell the estate? Or the tribes rose up again? Or someone tried to assassinate Chenzhou again?
Well, at least in that case his worries would be over, but until that happened, he had plenty of worries to worry about.
Maybe, if he was lucky, if he begged hard enough, Eirian would come to like the Camelia enough to keep fighting for it.
As they rode out of the stables and into the sunshine, even his dark thoughts faded away for a moment under the warmth.
Eirian glowed like the sun itself as they rode out onto the main bridge.
There was already a crowd held back by soldiers in black and red uniforms wherever there was space. People were even hanging out their windows to watch the progression.
Anna fell back to ride alongside Marian and Finn, who were just behind Yuze, who'd reluctantly taken the spot immediately behind Chenzhou and Eirian.
He was still upset about being left in charge for so long and aside from his initial joy at seeing Chenzhou alive, his generally grumpiness had returned.
He was sulking, Chenzhou thought and found it endlessly amusing, because as much as Yuze hated being in charge and dealing with the court, he never left. Even when Chenzhou had offered to release him from his oaths.
Yuze was far too loyal, and far to good, to ever leave the Camelia.
~ tbc