Pretty pleasee (with berries and cream), tell us more about the Eris- Siraye- Amalia dynamic
Siraye doting on Eris and Eris gravitating towards her and her and Amalia glaring at eachother 😭
haaappily<3 i think amalia does get pretty short with siraye without quite meaning to. very much just projecting her anger and frustration at herself onto siraye because she knows she can't say anything outright. but it's just undignified, the way siraye oversteps with eris, both as the high lord and as her son. (when was the last time she thought of him that way?) the female dotes on him like he's a youngling. (and he looks at her just like he used to look at amalia when he was a youngling.) amalia passes over her in conversation. she excludes siraye from events she very well could be inviting her to—teas, luncheons, salons. it was thrown together last minute; she simply forgot; she was worried siraye might be having one of her episodes and didn't wish to overwhelm her. she probably even makes some overtures at motherly affection: asking eris to play piano for her, asking him to accompany her on a turn through the gardens. but it only ever happens when it seems siraye might want a moment of his time.
eris genuinely can't fathom what's bringing his mother to act this way. he is so adept at political and social games, but this sort of emotional intelligence evades him, especially when it comes to her. there are truths of their relationship that he has known all his life, and her behavior doesn't make sense with them. he can tell that she's upset, but he isn't certain why—but he knows he really doesn't like that it's taken out on siraye, who can't correct her in any way, since she is the dowager lady and siraye is only their guest. so eris steps in. encourages his mother to include siraye, perhaps to share a meal with her. she's a lovely female, sharp as she is wise. they would get along well if she would only try to get to know her. this, of course, upsets amalia more—maybe she makes a comment about siraye seeming to have dulled over the years. eris gets upset and rebukes her—feels more like his father than he has in some time and leaves her to her affairs.
i don't think he'd confide in siraye after this, even though they'd be close enough for him to. he'd feel uncomfortable For Some Reason. like he was making some sort of choice. and he thinks the choice he would make would upset his mother deeply. he'd go to azriel, definitely not mentioning the specifics about what amalia said about siraye, and just sort of. i don't understand why she's behaving this way. i think azriel understands the weird, angry jealousy for what it is. he and his mother have probably discussed it, and he saw enough of it firsthand in eris anytime he was around the inner circle. the mourning of what could have been; the resentment of those who have it; the inability to reckon with any of it. eris is more like his mother than he will ever realize.
