What the hell was he doing, Yuze wondered. Feeling more familiar with this Bandri that doesn't even like him more than he ever did with his own husband.
He needed to set boundaries, to create some distance, especially in the midst of the investigation, but before he could even try to articulate his fears, the door flew open, and Eirian stormed in.
Kai Low jumped too. Annoyance flashed in his eyes, but Yuze felt a wave of relief at the distraction.
"Did you hear?" Saying she was in a mood was putting it lightly. Yuze could see the first hint of the flames rising off her, and her eyes were dark, furious.
Finn's two sisters sprinted inside after her, looking slightly winded. A feeling Yuze was familiar with. Trying to keep up with Eirian when she was in a fury was exhausting, even for Finn's fit, soldier sisters.
Mela closed the door behind them, so at least someone had some sense of propriety.
"Hear what?" Yuze asked.
Ran Orlo perked up at the Atlas. The poor kid was probably bored out of his mind just following his Uncle around, but, and he hid it well, he was too afraid to stray too far. He tended to go silent and pick at his clothes whenever Kai Low was out of his sight, and he had no idea what to do.
Eirian stopped in front of his desk, hands on her hips. The flames grew more obvious, brighter. Ran Orlo's eyes widened, and Kai Low stepped back to give her space. Magic was well known to exist on the Rock, so it was interesting to see two of the inhabitants who had so little exposure to it. Interesting too, that an entire society existed so isolated that most of their members had never even seen someone wield it.
Eirian didn't seem to notice. "Lady Yang was here this morning."
"I'm aware?" And confused about why she cared about Lady Yang visiting Chenzhou.
"Do you know where she went after?"
Dread, cold and dark, formed a pit in Yuze's stomach. "No."
Eirian's lip curled in a sneer. "She went to the High Court. She leveled charges of treason against Mingzhe."
Yuze blinked, absorbing what she said. Kai Low and Ran Orlo shared a confused look, but Finn's sisters looked almost as upset as Eirian. They understood the dangers of charges like that in their land. "Treason?" Yuze tried the word out on his tongue. It was a heavy charge, not one that would be forgotten even if they managed to convince the High Court that Mingzhe was innocent. "Why did she…" Well, he knew why. Lady Yang never half-assed anything. Treason was the worst charge that could be leveled against a member of the Camelia. And even if they got him off that charge, the High Court could still decide to recommend another, lesser charge. That would be harder to stop since they'd likely have done it after hearing all the evidence Yuze and Eirian had…which was nothing concrete at this point.
Eirian scowled. "I don't understand why you and Chenzhou think so highly of her. She clearly doesn't like any of you."
"It's not a matter of like, she cares about the Camelia. She's always done what's best for the estate and the Crimson Army." The response is automatic. Ingrained. Yuze doesn't even think any more before he says it.
Maybe that's the problem.
Regardless of what Lady Yang actually is or does, there has always been complete and utter faith that it's for the best, for the Camelia. But why is that?
He thought back, trying to figure out the first time he'd ever heard it, and realized he could only remember a vague mention by the Chenzhou's tutors when they were both young. Lady Yang would have already been an adult then, and a commander, respected in her own right.
It had been the opinion of most of her peers that had carried over to the younger generations, and now it was an institutional truth.
Did that make it true?
….
Yuze pushed his chair back and put his head in his hands, trying to keep his breathing steady when it threatened to leave him completely.
All- Almost all of their evidence had pointed to the Yangs in some way, but they'd all refused to believe it, because Lady Yang always did what was best for the Camelia.
When she argued with her superiors, when she disagreed with her peers, when she punished her subordinates…it was all in the name of bettering the Camelia. There had been those few who had tried to disagree with her over the decades. Yuze had heard about a few instances when they'd tried to speak out against her, but those voices had fallen silent quickly. So quickly that he couldn't even remember a name anymore.
The Yangs as a bloodline had always been highly respected, and Lady Yang had been the focus of much hope and anticipation when she'd been born. From what Yuze remembered hearing about her, the Yang family had always seen her as a coming gift to restore their family glory.
But it hadn't needed restoring when she was born.
They'd been one of the most respected families in the Camelia for generations at that point. They hadn't even had any of the typical scandals of the nobility in hundreds of years.
So what glory was she supposed to restore?
A hand landed on his shoulder, big and firm and reassuring, then another, smaller but just as strong. "Breath, Yuze."
He took several deep, measured breaths before responding. "I am breathing."
"Breath better then." Kai Low snorted.
A soft smack made it through the sound of his own breathing. Then angry muttering from Kai Low.
"I think-" Yuze had to stop to take several breaths. "That we may have made a mistake." A terrible, terrible mistake that was going to cost them dearly.
~ tbc