The curtains were pulled, and the room was illuminated by a few candle lamps.
The air was sickly sweet and rancid, the smell of sickness.
It made Eirian's stomach clench and heave.
There was much worse than the stench. It would linger for weeks.
Eric reached for her, and for a moment, they just held one another, taking what comfort they could.
Eirian, more than anyone else, knew the struggles of Eric's relationship with his father.
And how much the man meant to him.
Eric's only chance to mourn him was going to be as he died, because as soon as that last breath left his body, Eric would be too busy to think about anything.
Even Helena would have no time as she worked to support her son's rise to the throne.
Helena herself looked more exhausted than Eirian had ever seen her. Even the heavy makeup she'd favored as she'd gotten older wasn't enough to hide it. She gave Eirian a brief hug; she'd never been a terribly demonstrative woman, and then urged her to Jacques' bedside.
He looked so small amid the pile of blankets and pillows. The illness had come on quickly, and he was barely more than a skeleton. He looked, she realized, like she did when she used to much magic. His cheekbones stuck out like blades, and his skin was chalky and covered in sweat but somehow peeling at the same time.
His eyes, when they turned to her, were cloudy and dull. Nothing remained of the sharpness that had kept him a step ahead of his enemies during his fifty-year reign.
"Uncle." Careful, she took his hand in hers. It felt like holding the most fragile piece of glass between her fingers, and she had to remind herself of her strength as she stared at the veins bulging under his skin. "I came as fast as I could."
His mouth opened and closed as he tried to speak.
Eirian thought about pushing a bit of magic into him, but he was so fragile that even at her best, when she wasn't tearing up and struggling not to cry, she might not be able to do it without killing him.
She wanted desperately to hear his last words for her. They hadn't been able to talk face to face since before she'd left the capital to marry Chenzhou, and so much had happened. Some of it he wouldn't care about, some he would, but he always listened when she wanted a moment of attention.
And he gave mostly good advice.
Eirian had fond memories of summer afternoons when he snuck out of meetings with her and they'd take long rides along the water.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get here soon, Uncle."
"E- Er-" He coughed, blood and spittle dotting his lips. Eirian took a towel from the nightstand, dripped it in the bowl of water, and gently dabbed at his lips.
"It's okay, Uncle. Don't try to talk."
He kept trying, though. Coughing and shuddering. He was shaking so much that Eirian set his hand back on the bedspread, afraid she would hurt him accidentally.
But the moment she set it down, he turned frantic. "Er- e!"
She picked up his hand again, stroking it gently in apology. "I'm here, Uncle. I'm sorry."
He relaxed, squeezing her hand with what brittle strength he had left. "Erin." He smiled as Eirian's heart fell.
She swallowed the disappointment and managed a smile. "I'm here."
"Erin. My Erin." He squeezed her hand one last time, and then his eyes fluttered closed.
Eirian choked on a sob, and Eric rushed to the bedside, Helena at his shoulder.
She felt Chenzhou's hand on her shoulder, a steady, useless comfort.
He pulled her away a moment later, Helena and Eric also stepping away as the royal doctor entered. It only took him a second to listen to Jacques' chest, and he shook his head, bowing deeply to Helena and Eric.
***
Everything that happened after that was a blur. Chenzhou stayed at her side as the High Court and Imperial Army representatives came in to witness the King's passing.
They swore a quick oath to Eric before stepping aside as the doctor's assistants came in and began to prepare the king's body. It would take them hours before he was ready to be moved, and he would be placed for viewing for two days before he was placed in the crypt.
Eric would have to swear in as soon as possible. Once everyone necessary had been notified and could make it to the palace for the ceremony. Given how fast Helena could move, it would probably end up being around dawn.
Eirian let Chenzhou pull her out to the room Helena had set aside for them. Even Eric had taken a room in the royal apartments in the palace when he normally preferred to stay at a family home nearby.
There were hot baths, clothes, and food waiting for them. And Chenzhou fussed over Eirian until she'd eaten and was settled in a hot bath. He even sat on a chair just behind the curtain, just in case she needed anything.
"You can go bathe." Eirian wrapped her arms around her knees, staring at the steaming water.
"I'm fine," Chenzhou murmured around a mouthful of bread and cheese.
She didn't have the energy to argue with him; she didn't even have the energy to stop herself from crying, but Chenzhou was kind enough not to say anything as she sobbed in the bath.
~ tbc