There wasn't anything Yuze could say after that, so he didn't try. It took several minutes of Kai Low taking long, measured breaths before he was calmed down enough to do anything. Yuze, uncharacteristically off-balance, had stayed quiet while he did it.
When it looked like Kai Low was finally calm enough to continue, all Yuze had said was, "Let's go." In a weak tone that even he didn't like.
Yuze had crawled into the tunnel, torch held in front of him. When the tunnel widened, he was able to stand; walking, half bent over, was easier with the torch, though crawling would have been easier on his back. Kai Low was never more than breath away behind him, so close Yuze almost thought he could feel the heat of Kai Low's breath on the back of his neck.
He was probably imagining it.
Given the size of the Camelia, Yuze was fully prepared to spend hours making his way through the tunnel. It would have to be relatively shallow if it stayed close to the surface and the buildings above ground. If it went deep, it would eventually have to go down to the water level of the fjords under the estate, which would be safer for stability and going unnoticed, but would be a lot less pleasant when it came to staying dry and warm. In the winter, any tunnels near the level of the rapids would probably freeze solid, which meant they couldn't be used with climbing aids. They should still be a few moons from that level of cold, and Yuze certainly hadn't come prepared for it. If it started to get too cold, they'd have to turn back lest they get sick or injured with no way of being rescued.
It took a significant amount of strength to make their way through the tunnel. Yuze's muscles started to protest much sooner than he'd expected. He'd thought he healed more than this, but the strain very quickly became impossible to ignore in his back and legs.
Thankfully, the tunnel didn't dip at anypoint, which meant it was staying close to the surface. The needle on the compass he'd brought never dipped beyond east or south, so even though the tunnel twisted and turned at a few points, it never changed direction.
Obviously, all the effort had gone into digging the tunnel itself, and there hadn't been any left over to prepare for someone discovering it.
Whoever had done it was either bold or hadn't spared any thought for what would happen if the tunnel was discovered and followed back to its origin.
Just like Yuze was doing his best to spare any thought of everything he'd just learned about Fox.
Fox who had murdered his sister.
Fox who's brother hated him.
Fox who was a traitor to his tribe, his people, and the way of life he'd grown up in.
If everything Kai Low said was true, Fox was the kind of person Yuze would have hunted down and killed himself.
And yet it still didn't sit right.
For the first time, he found himself wanting to talk about him to someone. Not Kai Low, because Yuze wasn't unbiased or understanding enough for that yet, but someone with no connection to any of them, who could at least offer an unbiased opinion.
Maybe he would talk to Chenzhou…but Chenzhou would agree with Yuze, always.
Eirian would be better. She could be almost brutal in her pragmatism about situations.
He promised himself that he would ask for a moment of her time as soon as they got back. He needed to get this out of his system if he was going to be able to do his duty going forward. He couldn't keep getting distracted.
Especially with everything that was going on.
***
Yunli studied herself in the mirror hung on her wall. Her features looked good in paint, better than she looked in person most days. The Kings and Queens of Sorrow always had portraits painted by the Vermeer family on their coronation. They hung in one of the great halls of the palace in Aontacht, where everyone, including commoners, was allowed to visit them. The portraits, cared for by the same family that produced them, survived for hundreds of years, stretching back to eras already forgotten by the current residents of the land.
She tried to picture her portrait. Stately, from the side, because that always looked more dramatic, more powerful than directly from the front. She'd have to wear a crown, though it would be up to the King which one, as she would have to match his, and he was already crowned. She wore the elaborate headpieces styled after the lands to the East often; they fit her appearance since the Zhao's were from that land historically, so she wasn't worried about the weight of the metal and jewels.
Her body looked less good in the styles of Sorrow inherited from the West. She wasn't particularly curveous which worked best with those gowns, but she could make them work if the King insisted she stick to Sorrow's western styles. Considering Eirian's wardrobe seemed to vacillate between the two, she hoped he wouldn't insist on it for the day-to-day.
Would her skin darken in the sun of Aontacht? She was pale as snow normally, and the Camelia had been without sunlight for so long, her entire life. Aontacht was famous for its bright, sunny days. The kingdom of the Sun under the reign of the Sun King. Her skin would darken no matter what level of effort she went to, but perhaps it wouldn't look terrible. It was likely that it would darken here too, since the sun had returned. She'd have to find some newer oils and masks to make sure her skin wasn't ruined at the sudden change.
She was going to have to adjust a lot of her routines. She was very comfortable here, protected by her family. She wouldn't be in Aontacht.
Of course, she could still say no. Princess Soliel had agreed that Yunli didn't have to make her choice until after she'd met the King, but Yunli was already preparing her list of unacceptables. There weren't many when she considered the benefits to her family and the Camelia. Lord Ye may not be able to interveen on her brother's behalf, but Yunli had no such limits. She would just have to be careful about how she did it.
She'd already started to pack for her trip, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Her mother was vetting the maids and guards she would take with her, though if Yunli did marry the King, some of them would be replaced to ensure she had a balanced household.
As long as she could keep her two most trusted handmaids, Yunli could make everything else work.
She was supposed to leave the next day. Mingzhe was upset, but Yunli was too worried about him to wait. It would take twelve days alone to get to Aontacht, and while she was sure Princess Soliel wasn't going to suddenly announce the end of the investigation before then, the general sense of unease that had settled over the Camelia was almost impossible to ignore now.
She smoothed her hand over the silken fabric of her travel robes. She needed to make an impact every step of the way now. There could be no misteps.
~ tbc