Miya was very calm for someone who was being told that her mother was dead. Andreas made a point to say it as delicately as he could, knowing that Miya had a good relationship with Queen Nari before she came to Sólstaður—although it might’ve helped that they haven’t talked much since.
Andreas only heard of it during the meeting—Miya likely heard her mother’s name, but Kuro nor Sólstaður wanted her to fully learn the latter’s language, so most of the rest was lost on her. He told her about the other men’s ramblings when he got home.
“Sólstaður, at least, doesn’t know what killed her,” Andreas explained. “We just know that the fox advisor of yours decided that Nari wouldn’t come back, and asked the strongest to take her place. Everything went well, so Nari was confirmed dead.”
“Did they mention who the new ruler is?” Miya asked. She looked a bit shaken—a bit concerned—but he knew she was trying to hide it.
“Shunji, I believe,” Andreas replied with a small nod. “He’s the next youngest after you, right?”
“He’s almost seventeen,” Miya confirmed. “They had an idea he would be the next by the time I left; his father favored him.”
Andreas let the conversation end there, if only so he wouldn’t go on to ramble about his opinions on Kuro’s system of leadership. The strongest succeeded the previous ruler, instead of the eldest like in Gin and Sólstaður—Andreas still wasn’t convinced that it was genuine, knowing that they tested heirs for strength at a young age and not all of them received the same training.
Miya stayed in silence for a while, likely trying to fully grasp it. Andreas could guess she would want to go home—visit her mother’s grave, congratulate her half-brother. Other than that, nothing should change unless Shunji wanted her to return to Kuro. The worst part of that would be that Andreas couldn’t go with her; their marriage was technically only valid in Sólstaður, since it differed from Kuro’s traditions, and neither of them saw a point in marrying twice just so Kuro recognized it—assuming Kuro would let their forgotten princess marry a future Sólstaðuric leader in the first place. Miya only seemed to exist to them if she served a purpose in some argument or another.
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Lizette came into the main room; she had been outside the building when the meeting was held, so she knew of the news as well.
“Little princess,” Lizette said in Sólstaður’s tongue. Miya looked up, recognizing the nickname—something Amanda came up with to avoid saying her name, which became more affectionate as time went on.
“Do you need some help with dinner?” Miya asked. Lizette recognized the key words and nodded. Miya put on a smile and stood up to follow her back to the kitchen.
Andreas watched her go for a moment, ultimately having nothing to do until dinner was ready. Elias and Amanda were still where they held the meetings—Elias was likely still arguing with some of the chiefs or complaining about his son, while Amanda stayed just to listen to the men bicker as entertainment—but he expected Amanda, at least, to be home in time to eat.
Eventually Andreas was requested to pour out drinks—alcohol for everyone, albeit the type varied between wine, Sólstaðuric spirits, Kuro sake, and occasionally an odd mix of all three—which meant that dinner was about ready.
“Get me just a little red wine,” Miya said, glancing at him while she was finishing up preparing the meal itself.
“What counts as ‘a little?’” Andreas asked, taking the bottle in question.
“Enough to make me feel like I have alcohol in my system, but not enough that I’m actually drunk,” Miya replied.
Andreas nodded, and obeyed the request. She didn’t usually ask for alcohol—she was the only one who preferred something else, usually brewing tea near the fire in the main room—so that was enough for him to know that Nari’s death did bother her, to some extent. He was a bit worried, but there wasn’t much he could do concerning it; oddly enough, death within the family was a foreign concept to him. She would have gone through this before when her father died, but at least then she had her brother. Andreas never met, nor ever expected to meet, the elder Kuro-Masaaki child.
He poured a bit of wine for himself—Sólstaður liquor for Lizette and Elias, and sake for Amanda. His twin sister did come back shortly afterwards, announcing that Elias went to drink with some of the other chiefs. Lizette, a bit annoyed, wordlessly took Elias’s glass of liquor and more-or-less claimed it as her own.
Conversations were difficult, as always, but remarkably cheerful. Andreas or Amanda translated for Lizette and Miya—sometimes omitting certain things Lizette said so Miya wouldn’t hear, although most was teasing that Andreas hadn’t quite gotten used to yet—so the conversation could include everyone. Elias didn’t come home until after dinner was cleaned up, so Lizette firmly told him they ate it all and he didn’t offer much protests.
Fortunately when they went to bed, Andreas knew that Miya fell asleep fairly quickly and didn’t seem to be troubled by anything in particular. He just hoped she would be able to handle whatever feelings of mourning came from the earlier news.