The Court of the Camelia was hundreds of years old and clung to the same traditions that it had started with, like all the noble courts on the Rock. The minor noble families formed the outer circle, while the major noble families were the inner circle around the head of the court, the Lord and Lady of the Camelia. Even within the inner and outer circles, there were those on the inner and outer fringes.
The families at the farthest edge of the court were also the newest; the Fuja, the Crusoes, and the Darrows had only reached noble status in the last fifty years, and all three of them were still eager to justify their place.
The Fuja served in defense underneath the Yins and were one of the smallest families in the court. Lord Fuja was widowed and greeted them with his two sons, both of whom were still too young to marry but wore the uniforms of the Crimson Army. They were barely teenagers, Eirian noted, though they carried themselves like they were much older.
Lord Fuja himself was older than Eirian and Yuze, but not by much. He'd served them tea and remained polite, if a bit wary, through their questions. Eirian had gotten the impression that he was being honest.
If anything, he seemed a bit clueless, though he admitted to having heard the rumors. He had no forces serving under Mingzhe, so all his knowledge of what had happened was second-hand. He admitted easily enough to being involved in several conversations about what had happened, but defended it by explaining that as a commander, he couldn't ignore such powerful rumors. Especially when he'd noticed discontent among his forces as his soldiers argued over them.
"Argued how?" Eirian had demanded.
Lord Fuja had nodded to his sons then. "Tell them what happened at the training field."
His oldest had stepped forward, bowed, and went on to explain. "There was a fight during shield practice, Your Grace. Two of our men came to blows, one in defense of Lord Zhao, the other claiming he must have known what was coming."
"It's not uncommon for soldiers to fight," Yuze pointed out. "Training is difficult, exhaustion makes emotions run high."
But Lord Fuja's oldest had shaken his head. "These two have been best friends since childhood. They are incredibly close. Their fight unnerved many of their comrades with its intensity. They are still not speaking to one another, despite our efforts to mediate."
Kai Low had raised an eyebrow then. "The Lord mediates for his men?"
"In this case." Lord Fuja had shown no outward signs of offense. "Their friendship is well known throughout our forces, and the falling out has affected the health of the entire force. We are still hoping they will be able to recover before we have to reorder the entire company."
"Are any of your soldiers close with any of the Zhao soldiers?" It was a broad question and one that had the potential to be useless because of it, but Yuze had been a spy too long to forget that sometimes the most valuable information came from the least likely place.
Lord Fuja again looked to his sons, who had probably only graduated from training in the last year or two, but they both shook their heads.
"I am certain, Lord Rong, that there are some. The Crimson Army, despite its number, is very small, but nothing sticks out." The oldest answered again, and his younger brother nodded in agreement.
"Have any of the other families approached you about what happened? Or about anything recently?" Eirian asked.
It was the only time Lord Fuja hesitated, and only for a second. "I had tea with Lord Yin when we returned from the war. And with Lady Crusoe last week. I am supposed to have tea with the first Yang son next week."
"Hikari?" Yuze clarified, and Lord Fuja nodded. "Did you invite them?"
"No, Lady Yang sent a message; she wishes to discuss a better way to integrate my shieldmen with her archers."
"I wasn't aware there was an issue?" Yuze frowned.
"I would not say there is." Lord Fuja shrugged. "It seems she simply has an idea she wishes to discuss. Hikari handles all of her communication with the minor families."
Eirian looked thoughtful at that and committed the fact to memory. Mingzhe had mentioned Hikari a few times, calling the man his best friend since their training days, but Chenzhou hadn't had much to say about him, and Eirian had only seen him in passing.
But also, if Hikari handled all her communication with the minor families, how much communication was that? Lady Yang was well known for her work ethic and her dedication to protecting Sorrow and the Camelia. It hadn't even been a month since the war ended, and she was already trying to improve their ability to fight.
Eirian had gotten so lost in her contemplation that she missed the last of Yuze's questions, only returning to the conversation when those around her stood.
All in all, the Fuja hadn't known much that was useful, aside from the impact the rumors were starting to have on the cohesiveness of the Crimson Army. It was far worse than Eirian had realized in that regard. Rumors were damning in society; they shouldn't have been the same in the military, but apparently, a strong enough one was. An army that didn't trust itself, that couldn't work together, would die before it ever reached the battlefield.
That was why they had no choice but to do this investigation, to take these damn rumors seriously.
Because if they didn't, if they didn't stop them as soon as possible, they could destroy the entire Crimson Army.
~ tbc