"All three of my uncle's oldest children have died. Only my cousin remains. And I am the only child my father ever managed to sire." Eirian froze, and that sour feeling came back. "Or I was."
She had a little brother now. She'd seen him once, right after the birth, when her stepmother had announced a new Soliel heir, and her father had been too enamored to argue.
Eirian had refused to hold him. Or to stick around for the celebration. She'd gone to Philip to cry on his shoulder, and he spent the night assuring her that her father wasn't going to suddenly change his mind. They hadn't even known if the babe was strong enough to survive his first year yet, and the Land of Sorrow had long held the tradition of holding off the naming of heirs until the child proved strong enough to survive the first few years of its life.
That Eirian had been replaced within the week had been its own bit of gossip.
Chenzhou and Yuze must have sensed the change in her mood because Chenzhou quickly changed the subject. "I'll have the Masters pull the Histories for you. Because the Camelia has always been a military base, it has a detailed historical record. Perhaps you'll find something we've missed."
"Probably," Eirian muttered and then winced when both men's expressions shuttered. "Not like- I meant, things blur when you focus on them too long. Fresh eyes often help."
Chenzhou's shoulders fell. "That is very true." He admitted and stood in awkward silence until Yuze got tired of it and intervened.
"There may be some distant relations of the Armheims and the other families still alive. One of them would be the obvious culprit. I'll find them."
"And that lyric. The Camelia is bleeding." Eirian reminded him. Something about it sat wrong with her, and Yuze nodded. "I'll look through my own resources and figure out how the miasma started."
"There are Inventories that may help along with the histories. Everything coming in and going out was noted for accountability."
"All of it?" Eirian couldn't imagine how much information that would be.
"Military base." Yuze reminded her.
"I can assure you, the other military estates in the empire do not have records that in-depth." Eirian snorted. She'd often accompanied her Uncle or Cousins on their visits, and there were always questions about where this and that had gone. It often came down to who wanted to keep what trophy, but on a few occasions, it had been greed.
And on one notable occasion, straight incompetence. Thankfully, her Uncle was no fool, and he'd come down harder on that occasion than he had on any other.
"I'm assuming the Camelia has a Book of Standards?"
Yuze nodded, "Yes. Though much of it is unchanged. There have been a few recent additions to account for the influx of civilians and the increase in imports."
"Which imports?"
"Food mostly. There used to be extensive gardens that provided a good amount of vegetables and fruits, but it's been a long time since they've produced anything."
"Any idea why?"
"Chief Gardner says the soil must have gone bad, but they did a complete turnout and still can't get anything to grow."
"Turnout?" Gardening had never been of interest to Eirian, despite how much she loved having flowers and plants decorating her space.
"They got rid of all the original soil and brought in new. Paid a ridiculous amount of gold for it, too."
"Gold for…dirt."
Yuze rolled, "That's what I said."
"I guess that's not surprising for someone who paid millions for a wife." She and Yuze turned judgemental looks on Chenzhou, who gaped at them.
"That was you! You're the wife!"
Eirian scoffed. "And even I think that was a ridiculous amount."
Yuze nodded in agreement. "I told him that."
Chenzhou looked between the two of them in disblief. He'd hoped they'd learn to get along eventually, but he hadn't realized that meant they'd agree with each other and not him.
He was kind of cute, looking so put out, Eirian thought. His lips were pursed, his brow furrowed.
He was pouting, she realized. Upset that his best friend and his wife were ganging up on him.
Adorable, she thought and then stopped herself. Her husband was in love with someone else. It wouldn't do any good to start down that road.
And honestly, she was a bit burnt out after Philip. It would be great to find someone to sleep with. Sex was always such a good mood booster, but she wasn't getting tangled up with someone whose loyalty would be torn.
Not again.
Yuze was attractive enough, though he lacked the gentleness that Chenzhou seemed to carry. That might make him a safer option.
But he was also Chenzhou's best friend, which wasn't really far enough removed from the tangle if she really thought about it.
She sighed. There were three hundred thousand(ish) people in the Camelia. She'd find someone when she was ready.
For now, she'd just focus on making sure the Camelia survived until then.
She reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind Chenzhou's elvish ears. "Calm yourself, husband. You have good taste in friends."
Chenzhou looked like he didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted.
"Thank you," Yuze said, managing to dispel the awkward air.
Chenzhou gave him a flat look, but there was no heat to it.
It was easy to see how deep their friendship ran, Eirian realized. People in Chenzhou's position rarely had true friends. The lure of wealth and power was too much for most people to resist. He'd been lucky to meet Yuze when he had, been even luckier that Yuze, from what she'd seen so far, didn't heed the lure of gold.
She couldn't tell yet if he'd truly earned his position as the Camelia's spy master, but nothing suspicious stuck out.
"What am I supposed to do while the two of you are doing all that?" Chenzhou asked.
Eirian blinked at him and glanced at Yuze, who glanced back. They both stared at Chenzhou and said together, "Lead the Camelia."
Chenzhou looked oddly disappointed at their answer.
~ tbc