Chenzhou didn't want to return to his rooms.
It was painfully obvious by the way he kept pushing the conversation forward despite the rest of them dropping from exhaustion, and Eirian well and truly buzzed.
There was nothing more they could talk about tonight, even Brendan was already taken care of. Once Marian had found out he was coming, she'd arranged to have the headmasters of the three schools in the Camelia present themselves to discuss his future education, as Chenzhou was adamant that he go to school with other children. Remembering how lonely her own education under the family tutors was, Eirian didn't argue.
But he was still a couple of years away from starting school, and Min had him well in hand when it came to his day-to-day needs. Neither Eirian nor Chenzhou wanted to upset his routine too much since he was already going to have to adjust to a new place and new people.
And Brendan wasn't the only one who was going to have to adjust to a new life.
Anna was gone, which a part of Eirian didn't really believe and wouldn't until it actually had a few days to sink in.
Chenzhou certainly seemed upset enough, though. Despite having planned to leave her, the reality of it had clearly shaken him.
When he tried to restart the discussion about the Bandri again, Eirian finally just said. "For fucks sake, just sleep here."
Yuze had left soon after, eyes dropping with exhaustion but eager to see if Fox had returned.
Mingzhe had lingered, helping guide Chenzhou to the bed and listening to his last mutterings until they tapered off as the day finally caught up with him.
Eirian watched them as she changed, heads bent together, so similar and yet so different. They looked natural together, bound by the invisible weight they carried.
Eirian carried her own, but even from just an aesthetic point of view, she didn't fit. Far too light for their dark. Far too loud to be quiet.
By the time she'd finished changing, it seemed Mingzhe had decided to stay; he and Chenzhou were lying next to each other speaking quietly until Eirian threw herself onto the other side of the bed on Chenzhou's other side. She bounced and so did they, both of them wide-eyed with surprise. It made her grin.
"Go to sleep." She ordered, whipping the blankets over all three of them. "You shouldn't make decisions when you're tired."
Chenzhou groaned. "I'm always tired."
Mingzhe frowned. "I thought that was getting better?"
"It is," Chenzhou winced, trying to get comfortable. "But I feel like even that makes me tired."
"It's probably going to be like that for a while longer," Eirian muttered, fluffing up her pillow. "Change is exhausting."
Mingzhe nodded. "You haven't exactly stopped to rest either."
Chenzhou slanted him a glance. "I didn't think that would go over well."
"It wouldn't." Mingzhe's expression was bland. "Definitely not now."
Chenzhou pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. It seemed that even if they became friends, Mingzhe wasn't going to be anyone but Mingzhe.
He'd probably be even harder on them.
Chenzhou found the idea didn't bother him too much. The same way it didn't when Yuze was critiquing his work. Somehow it was easier to take when he knew it came from care instead of anywhere else.
Eirian propped herself up on an elbow and peered down at them. "You should go to sleep."
They stared back at her. "Does ordering someone to sleep make them sleep?" Chenzhou asked. He wasn't trying to be sarcastic, but it came out anyway.
Mingzhe snorted, relaxing back into his own pillow. It was a good thing Eirian had so many.
Eirian's eyes narrowed, but her lips quirked up at the edges. "Would you like me to sing?"
Both Chenzhou and Mingzhe immediately shook their heads. "No."
"Please don't."
Eirian scowled, but she was well aware of the sound of her own voice. Unlike the members of Finn's family, she didn't have a voice that comforted. She had a voice that commanded. "Fine. Then I'll sing if you don't go to sleep."
They went to sleep.
Eirian even watched them for a few moments to make sure they weren't pretending before she let sleep claim her as well.
It came on quickly once she let it, and she found herself back in that dead, glimmering world.
Yuze ended up dozing off at his desk, Emmy sound asleep in a chair, just as she had been when he returned. He'd ordered the guards to wake him immediately when Fox returned, and he was going to regret sleeping at his desk again when he woke up with a crick in his neck.
He'd told the guards to keep an eye out for Snake, but had only told them he wanted to talk to her. If she so much as suspected they knew what she was doing, they'd never catch her, and she was far too dangerous to be allowed to remain free.
Bringing her in would require a careful balance of precision and misdirection. It would be easier when Fox returned, since she seemed to dislike him enough that it could cloud her judgement.
Captain Li had only warned his most experience guards. The ones he knew wouldn't give it away immediately and had quietly placed extra guards at strategic locations.
More of Yuze's agents were supposed to return in the coming days to report on the heels of Fox's investigation and tensions were high as they waited to hear about the current state of the borderland.
Most of the court had conintued with their preparations for the fighting season, not as confident in Beng Shai's honor.
But that night, the majority of the Camelia slept on, oblivious to the gathering storm and in Eirian's dreams, Death finally arrived.
A great hulking figure made of raw power only loosely held together in the shape of a man with piercing blue eyes.
~ tbc