"Lady Eirian?"
Eirian turned and found a young man in the Camelia's uniform staring at her with wide eyes.
"Oh wow, it is you!" He brightened and threw himself into a bow. "It's an honor, your grace."
Eirian blinked, confused. "Thank you? Do I know you?"
Her confusion didn't seem to affect his enthusiasm, and he bounced over. He barely looked old enough to enlist, with a head of auburn curls bouncing along with him. He had warm brown eyes and dimples on either side of his grin. "I'm Finn. Finnegan Vermeer. We met once in Aontacht, at my mother's garden party."
Which jogged nothing in Eirian's memory because all the garden parties tended to blur together after a while. And there were a lot of garden parties in the capital.
"Vermeer, right. Does that mean you're related to Marian?"
"She's my third cousin." Finn chirped. "I'm from the main branch."
Curious that a son of the main branch was out here. "Why are you serving here? Shouldn't you be in the City Guard?"
A bit of a shadow fell across his face at that, but it disappeared quickly. "Both my sisters are in the City Guard. They baby me enough at home."
He'd wanted to stretch his wings, Eirian realized, which was understandable. "How long have you been here?"
"Just a year." He flushed. I'm still in training." Something seemed to occur to him then as he glanced around. "Are you alone? Where is your guard?"
Eirian snorted. "I hardly need one. Where could I be safer?"
Finn beamed. "The Crimson Army is the best in the Empire."
His enthusiasm was infectious, and Eirian couldn't help but smile. "So it seems. I'm looking forward to seeing it."
"Are you here for a long inspection? I've never seen one. What are you going to look at? Can I help?" He said it all without taking a breath.
"I'm not here for an inspection…"
"Private Vermeer. I, uh, haven't gotten promoted yet." He looked embarrassed as he said it.
"Why not?"
He turned away, suddenly bashful. "Not enough experience."
Which was clearly an excuse, Eirian thought. If you were skilled enough and worked hard enough, there was no reason not to be promoted. Either Vermeer had a failing he didn't want to admit to, or just wasn't suited to the work, or had pissed someone off… Well, there were lots of options, but his embarrassment seemed real, so she doubted it was something malicious.
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen?"
"Why does that sound like a question?"
He immediately straightened, coming to attention. "I'm seventeen, your grace."
Yeah, she thought, there was no way he'd done something malicious. He was probably just too enthusiastic, too young, or too naive.
"Uh, if you're not here for an inspection, why are you here? Your grace." His face flushed.
Eirian smirked, "I married Lord Ye last night."
Finn stared at her. "What? Wait, really? I didn't…I didn't hear anything about that. There was no celebration. Shouldn't there be a feast?"
"Take a breath, Vermeer."
He immediately did as she said, taking in an exaggerated breath.
"There was a feast last night. Once I've settled in, they'll be something bigger." Most likely celebrating the wedding, her ascension, and Chenzhou's funeral all at once, given the state of his body and the miasma. "Have you noticed anything…off about this place since you arrived?"
Confused, Finn shook his head. "No? Wait, did I miss something? Is this a test?"
"No, it's not a test." She felt bad when he got worked up. "And don't worry, everyone missed it."
She glanced back at the prairie land as a horn rang out. "What's that?"
"Twilight," Finn answered instantly. "They play at dawn and twilight every day. There's a different one at midday."
She looked around. The sun was starting to set. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten. She glanced back at the main castle in the heart of Camelia. Now that she had to go back, it was a bit of a walk.
She sighed, "Walk me back to the main residence, Vermeer. And tell me everything you know about this place."
He perked up. "Okay. Where should I start?"
"At the beginning, Finn. At the beginning."
***
Two hours later, she was regretting being so broad when telling Finn to tell her everything.
He started talking as they climbed down and didn't stop until they had entered the main castle and ran into Marian outside her rooms.
Marian, for her part, looked pleased to see her younger cousin, if slightly confused to see him with Eirian.
All the chatter was worth it for the look of terrified awe on Chenzhou's face as Finn managed to eat and never stop talking during dinner with minimal goading from Eirian.
He didn't stop to breathe until the maids were setting out desert, and Marian shoved a glass of plum wine in front of him.
"Isn't he adorable?" Eirian cackled when Finn hiccuped after downing the entire glass.
"Are you keeping him as a pet or for something useful?" Chenzhou looked wary. He was probably terrified of having someone that talkative around full-time.
Finn, flushed from the wine and probably a bit from embarrassment, slouched in his seat.
"Is he old enough to drink?" Chenzhou asked, and before she could answer, he turned to Finn, "Are you old enough to drink? Are you here against your will?"
Finn blinked owlishly as Eirian burst into delighted laughter. "Look at you, you have a sense of humor. When did that show up?"
"An hour before you did," Chenzhou responded, voice dry. Tonight's dinner was much more relaxed than their first. Anna had excused herself with a headache, and Marian had put off any outside requests to join them for one night of peace. She was seated next to her cousin, looking more indulgent than Eirian had thought possible, but she was clearly fond of her young relative. Yuze was neck deep in records and couldn't be budged according to one of the maids, who had an air of resignation and admitted she was usually the one to deal with him when he was stuck in his papers.
One of the maids came around with the wine, but Marian swiped Finn's glass before she could fill it. "That's enough for tonight."
Eirian turned back to Chenzhou. "Did the head of the hospital reach out?"
"No? Was he supposed to?"
Eirian frowned, but it lifted when the maid set desert, a decadant fruit tart in front of her. True to her word, Marian had clearly spoken to the kitchen because Eirian had a whole tart, instead of slices everyone else received. "Not yet. Give it a day." She decided, the sugar rush making her feel magnanimous.
Chenzhou seemed to let it go easily enough, though Marian's eyes stayed on her a moment longer.
It was an oddly peaceful end to the day, especially given the one that had come before.
But Eirian couldn't help but feel a smidgeon of worry. A concern that wouldn't quite go away no matter how peaceful things seemed.
It was the miasma she figured. Her magic protected her from almost anything, but little tendrils of it were creeping in. Lasting just long enough to leave little cuts that stung, a brief reminder that its reach was growing everyday.
~ tbc