The two teens relaxed in the bath, enjoying the feeling of the water soothing their various aches and pains. Eventually, Chénli sighed and straightened up slightly, sending small ripples through the steaming water and pushing floating scent petals across the water's surface. "The privacy formations are active, Mistress. We would not want someone seeing more flowers than appropriate, much to the dismay of all the perverted silkpants out there."
"It is unfortunate the formation are only in areas considered private. Times like this - I wish they covered the House", sighed Dàilán wearily as she lay back with her eyes closed against the cushions - specially Essence treated to be impervious to liquid - that ringed the edge of the large hot spring bath.
Chénli clicked her tongue, rubbing her eyes with a wet hand. "Young Mistress, please do not take this as a criticism, but as a sincere concern for your safety. Are you quite sure about involving yourself with the Clan politics like this?"
The sharp featured but pretty girl shrugged her shoulders helplessly, "Not two days we were in opposition to these people - they tried their best to slap your face." Chénli turned her hands palms up just above the steaming water, the dripping of water from her hands an emphasis to her words. "Suddenly now we are allies? It does not make sense…. it is frankly, dangerous."
"So why did you agree?" questioned Dàilán as she sat upright and looked at her maid, friend, bodyguard and adopted sister.
Chénli rolled her eyes, pulling back wet hair. "If you are determined in this foolishness, I need must be there to protect your back as best as I can."
The Heiress inclined her head. "My thanks. As to your other questions…" the young teen twisted her mouth into a grimace, "I feel… I do not know how to explain it… I feel a storm is coming. If the Clan is to have any chance of survival… we need to stop this absurd internecine bickering and fight our common enemy."
Chénli raised a carefully plucked and shaped eyebrow, peering through the steam intently. "I do not disagree - in principle. I have always thought that the way the three Houses act is stupid - especially given that Guan is at best a mid-size clan. However," she circled her left wrist near her temple in the universal sign for insanity, "that does not mean that your new 'allies' will be as farseeing."
She dropped her hand back under the surface of the hot water with a splash and snorted coldly, leaning forward to emphasise the point, "going by their past behaviour, they will more than likely betray you for some minor or imagined short term advantage."
Dàilán sighed, tilting her head back to regard the bathhouse roof through the rising vapour. "You could be right. But that is what I have you for. And there are other considerations…"
Her bodyguard grimaced and slapped the surface of the water, sending out small ripples and clouds of perfume scent as the petals broke apart. "Such as?"
"All of this hostility is artificially caused - for one. With a clear and present threat, the Houses will focus their energies outside the Clan with no resources for the usual engineered competition between the Houses," the Heiress pointed out, "No clan, no more reason to fight each other…"
Her friend furrowed her brow, reaching up to pinch her glabella and closing her eyes in thought. "You think this is something more than the usual Clan politics?"
The young beauty nodded in response, then sat up sharply to look at Chénli, sending ripples out across the water. "I have no way of explaining it - it is almost a pattern in the air… but I do not think that what is coming is simple. I do not think my Cousins will have a chance or reason to betray us. And I think that if we do not all fight together… we are lost."
Chénli exhaled sharply and scooped water up to splash on her face talking slowly through her hands as she puzzled it out. "Well, hypothetically, if the Clan came under extreme threat it would make sense that interactions would change; it is important that they do not see our House Line as a dead weight or a threat - if they thought we were not going to stand with them - they might take drastic action to avoid an internal enemy as well as one without."
The Heiress nodded, crushing floating petals in her hands as she looked at the water. "That is also true; for now I believe we gain more with allying than rejecting the hand," said Dàilán soberly, "There is one other consideration that I have given quite a bit of thought to…"
"Oh?" The maid submerged her head under the water for a moment and came up with steaming skin. The Heiress grinned and followed her, gasping as she straightened back up.
"Yes," she replied when she had caught her breath. "My Cousin's actions yesterday - they were very much spur of the moment - not part of some master plan." She paused, pushing wet hair back across her shoulders. "I think they saw an opportunity to increase their own value and power and took it."
"How is that different from…" Chénli stopped, focusing on pulling her own hair into a rough tail behind her as Dàilán held up a small hand.
"It is different - because - it is coming from my generation - not the Elders, like Grandmother. They are making their own play and they do not have copious resources to fall back on." The Heiress leaned back against the cushions again and frowned in thought, splashing her raised hand back into the water, then raised it to point into the air.
"If I am not mistaken they have already revealed most of them to us as a show of good faith. I think…" Dàilán tapped her lips contemplatively with her pointing finger "...I think they have been quietly forming a fourth bloc apart from the three Houses - and now they are using this chance to try and break away from the mess the Elders have made of the Clan, with the favouring of sons and self-centred, power hungry agendas - they would not be seeking to continue them. Stabbing us in the back would be as good as destroying their own chances."
Chénli sat up straight, dropping her hair and sending a new cloud of vapour, perfume and ripples of water across the bath. "They would lose access to contacts outside the Compound, and battle training."
"Precisely. It is not as if they have other options…" pointed out the other girl, still staring upward. "Maybe before things started to go sideways, they were able to get access to those things in some fashion - after all Dagger managed to get ranked as a formations master, which you cannot do inside the Clan… but consider that the Clan has become isolated due to the forces moving against it. Heir Ji had to pass a message through us, which means their usual avenues of contact have been cut - we all need each other - you, the maids and I cannot fight a powerful enemy on our own."
"But if enough of us work together… maybe?" Chénli suggested tentatively, scrubbing water out of her eyes as it dripped down from her hair.
"That is my hope - I am hoping they are thinking the same. We will ask the next time either of them visits," affirmed the Heiress, sitting up again. "Besides, both of them have indicated their focus is external to the Clan - Second is definitely working to become involved with House Ji and as a Formation Master, First would be able to support herself without a Clan - so they would not attack us over stupid internal Clan rivalries that might jeopardise that."
Chénli gasped and lifted a dripping arm out of the water to point at her mistress. "That mess with the suitors would have threatened their plans - If you got married off before them they would have come under much closer supervision and had very little hope of leaving the Clan - except as wives to smaller Clans to avoid insulting whomever married you; and also Heir Ji was ordered to pursue you instead of Second..."
Dàilán frowned, her eyes intent as she stared back across at her sister. "So it looked like I was attacking their interests. When they saw that it was not the case…"
"OK. I am convinced," said the bodyguard, slapping the water emphatically, "We keep an eye out for evidence to prove or disprove our conclusions, but remain cautiously allied, for now."
"Do we tell the others?" questioned Dàilán, rubbing her face in thought.
Chénli leaned back in the water, frowning as she rested her shoulders on the padded sides. "I think - It will not be possible to hide that we are being cordial with them, where we avoided each other before - but that we are in alliance? We probably should not tell Chàng or Biyu specifically, other than to caution them to treat the other Heiresses with the respect their positions deserve when we interact - without training they might not be able to hide their change of opinion towards the other two otherwise; it could tip off any watchers with an interest in making sure you three keep at each other's throats." She paused and blew out a quiet whistle, "Ài, though…"
It was Dàilán's turn to frown, splashing her hands into the water. "Do you think we are trusting her with too much too soon?"
The bodyguard blinked in surprise, but considered the question carefully. "I think… she would make a good backup for my position."
Dàilán raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "High praise from you. OK, in that case, tell her," the Heiress commanded.
The bodyguard bowed her head in acquiescence, "Your will, mistress." She turned to grasp the side of the bath, sending the water splashing against the sides of the bath as she started to pull herself upward, evidently preparing to leave the water.
"A moment, Chén'er." The Heiress' expression was resolute. "What is the stance of the Sect on this matter?"
The other girl flinched and dropped back into the water. "I… I cannot answer that, unless I am directed to inform you."
"Understood." Dàilán closed her eyes, before continuing in a softer voice, "I may be mistaken… but I believe my Mother would be very disappointed. Feel free to communicate that to your Master."
Chénli turned around and stared at her with huge eyes, her voice shaky "I hear and obey, Mistress."
"I do not blame you, sister," answered the other girl, "but I think unless the Sect chooses to act I may not survive what is coming."
Water cascaded in all directions, splashing over the edges of the tub as Chénli threw herself across the bath to hold onto her mistress fiercely. "I will not leave your side, no matter my orders, sister."
"I pray to the gods that will be enough, Chén'er." answered Dàilán sadly.
---
Later that evening, as was customary, Dàilán and Chénli sat around the Third House family dining table dressed in semi-formal robes along with Dàilán's Father.
"I hear, Daughter, that you have been making some progress with your Cousins," remarked the Elder Guan as he served himself some pickled radishes, "I was quite surprised when my Niece visited this morning."
"Tensions have eased somewhat, Father," responded Dàilán candidly as she nibbled on a small, delicate roll, "Since they found the recent issues were none of my doing."
"Quite." The older man raised his hand to his mouth and coughed delicately, an expression of discomfort on his face. "Still, in a couple years you will have to consider your own marriage seriously regardless."
Dàilán held her sleeve free of the food as she reached over and picked up a segment of steamed fish with her chopsticks. "If we have that long, Father, I should be glad to attend to it - though I hope a more suitable set of prospects are available by then," the young teen replied lightly.
The older man grabbed a various collection of savouries into add to his own rice bowl before picking up his own utensils. "Hmm… as to that, I did take a chance to discuss your concerns with Eldest Brother… he, unfortunately... did not see fit to take them seriously."
With a slightly regretful expression her grabbed up a number of items and ate them before continuing.
"While my Eldest brother agrees that your second uncle is over ambitious; and as Clan Leader has admitted to me that he would prefer that I lead the Clan once he steps down, he does not feel that your Second Uncle is actively working against him."
Mostly focused on her own food, Chénli paused between mouthfuls "Not particularly surprising," she remarked.
"No, unfortunately, it is not", answered the Elder as he resumed eating.
"But…" Dàilán stopped as her father held up a hand.
"I understand your concerns, daughter," he said after he swallowed his mouthful. "I share them in part, myself. However, further talk on the subject could lead to accusations of slander, which would sharply reduce what little influence we have left. Until we find evidence…" He stopped abruptly and shook his head. "Let us talk of more pleasant topics."
"As you say, Father."
"Thank you, Daughter."