Their rooms were so painfully silent after Chenzhou left that Anna couldn't sleep.
The guilt and doubt had swept in as soon as her anger had left, along with Chenzhou. She hadn't meant to get so angry when Chenzhou had decided to go with Eirian to Aontacht.
But he hadn't even hesitated. Hadn't even stopped to think about it when she'd burst into their rooms.
Anna hadn't realized Eirian even knew where they were in the castle.
It's not that she's not sympathetic. By everyone's account, Eirian was close to her uncle, and Anna had lost enough close family members to understand the pain that comes with it.
Her own parents are getting on in years. Before, she'd been counting on them to help her through losing Chenzhou, but since he'd become healthier, she'd started to think it would have to be the other way around. Her parents were nearing the end of their sixties, and her father wouldn't be able to work much longer. Her oldest brother was already handling most of the business, and her sisters were married with their own families.
They'd always supported her relationship with Chenzhou and maintained the careful distance Anna had always been paranoid about. She'd always worried about the way people talked; it was bad enough that she was common-born, and Chenzhou was from one of the oldest bloodlines she'd ever heard of.
Anna was careful not to listen to the gossip, though she knew it was there.
And she'd known that no matter how much Chenzhou assured her otherwise, things would change when he married.
And Anna couldn't even be mad about that, because she'd turned him down every time he'd proposed to her.
She just…hadn't realized things would actually change.
Or that Chenzhou would actually like his wife.
He'd sent her a short letter that Yuze'd had delivered. Most of it was about the death of the king and the coronation and what it meant for the Camelia, but he had written that he missed her.
There'd been no mention of when he was coming back, though, and even Yuze had no idea, although Yuze didn't think it would take long.
She hadn't really spoken with anyone but Yuze or Marian since Chenzhou had left. Outside of her work, anyway.
It wasn't until she ran into Snake one evening after dinner that she realized she wanted to.
"My lady." Snake had appeared out of the shadows as she was walking back to her rooms.
Anna had jumped, surprised, and then relaxed in relief when she'd recognized the voice. "Snake. Good evening."
The spy had fallen into step with her in the quiet hallway. "You seem unhappy."
Anna let the other woman's presence calm her. "No, just…I'm not sure."
"Because Lord Ye is gone?"
Anna sighed. "I was angry when he left."
"What's wrong with that?"
"It was hardly his fault. He didn't deserve my anger."
Snake shrugged. "He's a man. He can take it."
"No one should have to take what they haven't earned," Anna argued. She'd always hated the idea that people were simply required to suffer things.
"And yet the powerful use it as an excuse constantly."
"Chenzhou is not like that."
Snake inclined her head in defeat. "Perhaps not. He is one of a few, and right now, he is in a pit of snakes who care nothing about those they believe are below them."
Anna ground her teeth. "That is the unfortunate nature of power."
Snake studied her. "You're worried about him."
"Of course."
"Did something happen?"
"You would know better than I," Anna admitted bitterly. "All he said was that things had gone smoothly. He does not confide in me." She'd been so vehemently against getting involved with his responsibilities in the beginning, afraid of how it would make her look, and somehow she'd never been able to take it back.
"That seems strange, given his attachment," Snake commented.
Anna's shoulders crept up to her ears. "I didn't want to be involved."
Snake shrugged. "To each their own. Perhaps he told you more than you realized? People of his rank are used to speaking in code."
Surprised, Anna glanced at her. "I hadn't thought of that." She reached into her pocket and fingered the letter. She'd carried it with her since she'd received it. After a moment, she pulled it out and opened it, eyes flying over the familiar words.
Curious, Snake peeked over her shoulder.
***
Mingzhe hadn't expected Chenzhou to write him personally, but the long letter was welcome, and he'd immediately set aside his other work to read it.
Chenzhou had sent him a detailed account of the funeral, the coronation, and the interesting dynamic between Eirian and her family.
Including the tense mention that neither had been delayed until Eirian's father was present. Apparently, he'd arrived only hours after the coronation had taken place. He hadn't visited the palace to pay his respects to his brother or the new king. He had instead returned immediately to the Soliel family estate.
Mingzhe wasn't completely aware of Eirian's relationship with her father, but from what he'd heard both she and Chenzhou mention, it was enough to spark a small knot of worry in his chest.
Chenzhou hadn't even taken guards with him.
If Eirian's father tried something, Eirian and Chenzhou had no one they could completely trust except one another. Mingzhe had tried to find a spare group of soldiers to send after them, but his forces were all committed to patrols, and the other lords weren't willing to risk angering Chenzhou by sending forces he didn't explicitly request.
It could end up embarrassing him terribly if they made a mistake or worse, cause some kind of insult that saw blood spilled.
So Mingzhe had resigned himself to worry until they returned, surviving on whatever morsels Yuze shared.
Chenzhou's letter was nearly five pages in neat, slightly cramped writing. After detailing Eirian's family, Chenzhou had spiraled off into his concerns over the rumors surrounding Eirian's parentage, which mattered little to Mingzhe, and several insightful observations about the other powerful people in high society in the capital. Some of it Mingzhe wasn't sure he should have been sharing in a letter, but it felt good to be trusted.
Mingzhe still had reports from his companies patrolling the borderlands to read over, but instead, he pulled out a stack of clean paper and set to writing letters to Chenzhou and Eirian.
~ tbc