Moonfire & Midnight

Anna left not long after that, leaving Eirian to finish breakfast by herself in that terribly gloomy solarium.

Marian had remained, quiet and still and clearly intending to follow Eirian wherever she went.

Eirian finished another plate before she finally felt full. "Who else?"

"Hmm?" Marian gave her a questioning look.

"Who else besides Anna?"

"Ah, Lord Ye has been loyal to Lady Anna since they met."

Eirian's look of disbelief is what finally makes her smile.

"It may be hard to believe after having lived in the capital so long, but it is love between and nothing more. Lady Anna's family is well off, but not that well off. Lord Ye has had plenty of marriage proposals from more valuable families, but he has never wavered."

That leaves something hard and uncomfortable in Eirian's stomach. A pit she can't assuage or heal with her magic.

How wonderful that they found love and such a strong one at that. A decade after meeting as teenager, all the temptations of money and nobility and they haven't wavered.

What must it be like to be loved like that?

She'd thought she had that with Philip. So perfectly well matched in every way, and the few they weren't, they were willing to overlook.

Or at least, that's what they'd promised, said to one another when they were alone.

For what that had turned out to be worth.

Which was nothing.

Eirian's magic sparked with her temper, and she caught Marian stepping back in surprise.

"If you handle managing the estate, what does Anna do?"

"Anna does not take part in leading the estate. She assists with managing care for the smaller children on the estate. If you're finished, I can show you."

Defiant, Eirian grab another pastry and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Is it true it feeds your magic?" Marian asked, looking curious.

Eirian nodded as she chewed. "I'll be skin and bones in days if I just stick to three average meals a day."

Marian's face pinched in concern, "I'll inform the kitchens."

"Remind them I'm allergic to fish and shellfish and I don't like mushrooms."

Eirian remembers a few other things to have her tell the kitchens and the house maids as Marian spends the rest of the morning giving her a tour of every inch of the Camelia's main castle.

She remembered to remind her that she didn't like fruity teas while Marian showed her the gardens. Only the indoor sections were still growing, Marian explained, it had been years since they'd managed to grow anything in the outdoor wing.

She reminded Marian she preferred cedar and spice scents for the candles and oils in her rooms as they examined the orangery.

And that she preferred a vibrant color palate to muted pastels, though jeweled tones were acceptable since they'd go so well with the black stone the Camelia was made of.

"And I want the tapestries cleaned and re-hung. When was the last time new ones were put up?" Eirian asked as they walked the long hallways.

"Before his grace was born," Marian answered, "He never wanted to waste the funds or time, but there is a large selection in storage. I'll have them taken out and prepared for viewing."

"Don't bother with anything in the Venetian or Han dynasties. This place is gloomy enough."

"There's a significant collection of kesi." Marian suggested.

"Did the color hold up?"

Marian nodded, "They were stored in sealed elmwood. They're in perfect condition."

They stepped out onto a wide balcony that stretched the length of the castle. The sun was high but any warmth it should have brought was absent. Even the stone was dull when it should have shined.

Eirian looked out over the expanse of the estate, the towering spires balanced so carefully on the knife edged cliffs, the roaring water so far below.

"This place is dying," Eirian says and feels Marian stiffen next to her.

"The Camelia has survived the worst the gods can offer. She will survive this too."

"Do you know what this is?"

Marian looks out, her hands clasped together in front of her so tightly her knuckles are white. "We have had every available healer in the Empire here. They can no more heal Lord Ye than they can heal the Camelia."

And yet they haven't made the connection, Eirian thinks to herself. "How long has it been like this?"

"It was not this bad when I arrived, but it was not new then either," Marian admits. "Sometime during the reign of Lord Ye's great grandfather the Camelia began to decline."

"There must have been something, a root cause. This," Eirian gestured to the sprawling estate, "This does not just happen. Someone willed this into existence."

Marian's gaze snapped to her, desperation in her eyes. "You know what is wrong?"

"I can see the miasma." At the older woman's confusion, Eirian explains. "The illness, a poison seeping into the very stones."

"Poison- poison can be cured," Marian breathes, hopeful.

"A miasma is magically assisted poison, for lack of a better term. Whoever is responsible did this knowing it would be long and slow."

"Whoever?" Marian hardened. "This was deliberate."

Eirian scoffs, "Miasmas do not occur in nature. They are a man-made monstrosity. And as such, nature cannot cure them."

Marian's hands are shaking now, "Is there a way to save us? To save the Camelia?"

Eirian debates her answer. She is not one to give blind hope or reassurance, she doesn't think it helps. But there is a chance, because there is always a chance.

And Eirian is not one of the most powerful sorceresses in the Empire for nothing.

"If anyone can save this place, I can."

~ tbc