Marian was too worried about her bandages to let her bathe, not even after Eirian stared longingly at her tub for an hour. She'd offered to wash her by hand instead, but Eirian mostly wanted to soak in hot water more than she wanted to be clean, and she wasn't a huge fan of being wiped down with a cloth when there wasn't a soak after. She didn't like the way it felt as it dried on her skin.
Finn had relaxed after a couple of hours and nodded off quickly once he did. Marian had summoned Min to put both Finn and Brendan to bed.
More than anything, Finn had been worried about Emmy and Patrick, who he hadn't heard anything from in days. According to him, Henri and Li weren't too worried, as Emmy and Patrick had been planning to go deep undercover to try to discover who they'd seen in the Vault, and that took time. A few days, even a few weeks, wouldn't be a surprise, and they'd both cautioned Finn that he'd have to be patient.
Unfortunately, that wasn't one of Finn's strong suits. But he could and did worry more than most. And Emmy and Patrick were the first real friends he'd ever made.
Eirian had realized he was more attached than even Finn himself realized, which she understood. It was hard when you were born into a position like Finn's to make real friends. To have someone you could trust and who actually liked you for something besides your family's money or power.
The poor kid had even gotten teary-eyed when he'd been talking about how worried he was, and Eirian had actually felt bad. She'd comforted him the best way she knew how, assuring him that Henri and Li were probably right and that Emmy and Patrick would check in soon, and promised to ask both of them herself as soon as possible.
Marian had after she'd sent Min off with the children, busying herself by fussing with Eirian's hair. She'd gathered oils, potions, and pastes, carefully layering them through the healthy strands and wrapping it in warm towels, until Eirian's head was ten times as heavy and she had to prop it and her hair up on extra pillows so she didn't wrench her neck.
Mingzhe had left to bathe and change while Marian worked, mostly fleeing the fumes of all the hair products.
Marian's fingers had been gentle, and she'd nearly lulled Eirian to sleep, but then she'd started telling Eirian about Brendan, about how he was opening up and everyone was falling in love with him. About his lessons, which weren't going quite as well. "Every day he has more energy, more laughter, more curiosity." Marian's smile had been gentle, somehow amused and exasperated at the same time. "Getting him to sit still has been a losing battle thus far." She paused from her reflection to study the dead lengths of Eirian's hair. "If this treatment doesn't work, it may be best to just cut it off." She patted Eirian's shoulder in commiseration when a tear came to her eye, "It will grow back quickly. And winter will soon start; it is cold here, even with the hearths. No one will think anything of you wearing wraps until it has regained some length."
Eirian thought about her extensive closet and was somewhat surprised to realize, "I don't have any."
"I'll have the castle seamstress come up with some ideas." Marian didn't seem surprised, but she'd been spending more time in Eirian's closet than Eirian had.
Eirian hummed in agreement, enjoying the kernels of pleasure from Marian stroking her hair and relaxing into the bed.
"He's still too young for tutoring, but he's learning to dress himself. To eat neatly. The social graces."
Eirian raised the one eyebrow she had.
"Granted, he hasn't quite been convinced of their value, but he is learning them and the teachers are fond of him."
Eirian snorted. "They're being paid. Of course they do."
"I'm sure that's a part of it, but I believe they are genuine."
"You should like a grandparent." Eirian didn't mind. The more good influences Brendan had, the better.
Marian seemed pleased with the comparison. She'd never had children of her own, never sure whether it was herself or Henry that was the issue, but Henry's siblings had plenty of children, and none of them had minded Henry and Marian's help. She'd dedicated a lot of time to raising Henri and his siblings and considered them the closest she would ever come, but they were long grown now, and it was nice to have the energy of a child filling the castle. She'd even caught the maids and a few guards running through the halls with him, playing along with his stories. Min allowed it, under the justification that play developed social skills and creative thinking.
Marian just made sure no one from the court saw any of it. "Am I overstepping?" She didn't think she was, but it was worth checking.
Eirian rolled her eyes. "Of course not." She paused. "But I'm the one who teaches him to fight."
Marian smiled. "It may be a bit too early for that just yet."
"I started near his age."
Marian's eyes widened. "Not with real weapons?"
"They had dulled edges," Eirian muttered in her own defense.
Marian hadn't seemed all that comforted by the explanation, but she was wise enough to pick her battles.
She'd finished wrapping Eirian's hair and kindly applied her facial pastes as well. By the time Chenzhou arrived, Mingzhe had returned and was sound asleep on the right side of the bed, Eirian was asleep after all of Marian's ministrations, and Chenzhou didn't do anything except walk to the left side, toe of his shoes, and collapse face-first in the empty space.
~ tbc