It's so odd. The way humans pick their companions and all the categories they put them in.
Like, you run into someone one day, feel something that can't be explained, and that's it.
Eirian and Eric were four when they decided to be best friends, never mind that they were related. Eirian met Philip at a ball when they were fourteen, and they'd both known immediately that they liked one another as more than friends. Even their fraught teenage years didn't change that.
Eirian has known Ye Chenzhou for three days, and she thinks a part of her has already chosen him as her partner based on nothing but a few conversations and a situation neither of them wanted to be in but had resigned themselves to out of necessity.
She even likes Yuze, though she's less willing to admit that out loud. They could be friends, given enough time.
That morning on the meeting room floor is the first major turning point in Eirian's life since she was told of the marriage contract itself. It doesn't seem like enough time has passed between them, but that's just life, she figures.
It rarely does what anyone else wants.
They'd spent the rest of that day in more meetings, Chenzhou looking worse with each one and Eirian's patience fading in kind. But after that morning ambush, it seems those who occupied the Camelia had a preference. Most of the court and Chenzhou's upper command were nothing but polite and professional.
It means nothing, of course. They're still plotting behind closed doors, getting desperate as Chenzhou has basically admitted his coming death with Eirian's presence.
In the week since that day, none of them have asked to speak with her, invited her to tea or a meal, or done anything that could be construed as the foundation of a bridge. They clearly don't think she's going to last any longer than Chenzhou, and with each passing day, it gets harder and harder for Eirian to resist the urge to show them exactly why they should be lining up behind her.
"Magic," Chenzhou had explained haltingly over a quiet dinner, "Is rare here. Even though it seems like it would be otherwise." He'd given into Eirian's demand to have a cheese course with every meal. Marian had been terribly confused at first, until she'd clocked Eirian's amusement at the way his eye twitched, and he always grimaced when it was brought out. Then she'd rolled her eyes and called them children when Eirian had made of show of how much she enjoyed cheese.
"You need to keep it hidden unless it's absolutely necessary." Chenzhou had continued, worried someone would attempt to harm her. No matter how much Eirian brushed off his concerns, he'd refused to budge. He'd even made Finn choose four permanent guards for her, which had put the poor boy in a terrible position, evaluating all his seniors and choosing the best among them. He'd hidden in Eirian's room the day he'd published the notification and refused to come out.
Eirian herself hadn't been pleased to have four hulking giants in armor following her around all the time and had spent most of the first few days ignoring them.
She still didn't know their names, but the annoyance was slowly fading into acceptance, so she figured she'd learn them soon.
She'd attended all the regular meetings Chenzhou did and a few emergency gatherings due to weather, supply shortages, and a skirmish at a border town. Apparently, in a few months, it would be fighting season again, and things would pick up, but for now, it was just a few scattered run-ins along the border the Camelia controlled.
Eirian was planning to ride out when the fighting started again, to stretch her muscles and get a better sense of the situation, but for now, she relied on eyewitness reports from the scouts and commanders.
She and Chenzhou had fallen into the habit of having dinner together to compare their days. Eirian was still working on redecorating most of the interiors before she even thought about starting on the exterior, and her rooms had only just been completed and fully set up. Thankfully, parts of the new wardrobe she'd ordered has started to arrive, so she at least looked like less of an outsider, but she hadn't been willing to give into a completely dark color pallet and somehow Marian and the seamstress had found a middle ground with a base of Eirian's lighter pallet and black or red accents depending on the occasion.
She did give in and get a ceremonial set of robes in midnight black, blood red, and gold accents, but when she wore them, she looked like she was on her way to burn down a city, so they were only for special, special occasions.
Or declarations of war.
She refused to admit out loud that she was hoping for a few of those. She did love the outfit and the crown of swords Chenzhou had cast to go with it, but she also missed the thrill of battle and the terror that came with adrenaline and the fight for survival—putting aside all the extra nonsense of politics and gossip and reputation to worry only about one thing. One thing that depended solely on your own ability and your own strength.
Chenzhou still had breakfast and lunch with Anna every day, but Eirian saw her rarely.
She didn't go out of her way to interact with Anna, but she also didn't purposely avoid her…
So really, it wasn't Eirian's fault that they barely spoke.
She had, however, been spending a lot more time with Yuze and Finn, who'd officially become her assistant and was doing his best to try and keep up. Thankfully, the unflagging energy kept him going even when he was struggling to understand and had to asked Eirian for clarification when he thought no one else would hear.
Fittingly, Eirian figures, it's serious, watchful Yuze that ends up putting two and two together, from the Blood Records and the Inventories, and figures out where exactly the miasma came from.
~ tbc