Dawn Star had become used to waking up without her friend there. Sometimes she blamed it on Wu having walked the paths of the dead; sometimes she blamed it on all the death they had seen. She blamed it on ghosts and on manipulative masters, but the truth was Wu's restlessness could only be blamed on Wu. She was allowing herself to be haunted by too many things and she refused to let go of her painful memories because it was all she had left – of him.

She was nervous when Wu was not outside when she woke up. She was worried when she had not come back by the time Dawn Star had washed her face and cleaned her boots. When it had been over an hour and a light rain misted the area, she decided to find her friend.

She found Wu's footprints in the mud and followed them as best she could through the swamp. The cattails swayed above her head and she saw nothing, until the path widened.

It was a lake of stagnant water. Dragonflies flew around, their wings making a chorus of hums. Covering the surface of water so black that is looked like polished obsidian were the plants. Thousands of them, all in bloom and in every color. Pink, white, yellow, red, orange. A lake of lotus blossoms in the swamp.

Wu was sitting on a rock, staring at them. In her hand was a book, tattered and dirty, but she paid it no mind. She did not even look up when Dawn Star stood next to her.

"I found him," was all she said. And she clutched the book to her chest. "Did you know what he once told me about the lotus? That the stalk is easy to bend in two but it is very hard to break or separate completely."

"It was only much later, when I was at the Palace, that I found a book that told me what that really meant. The lotus stem is a symbol for lovers and no matter how far away they might live, nothing can really separate them in heart."

When Wu was ready, they walked back to Two Rivers.

Wu sat patiently on the floor in her quarters, meditating as she had been taught long ago.

It had been three months since the fall of the usurper. Wu was allowed out of her apartments for short public appearances and then shuttled back to her quarters. She had been the one who had stated that her solitude was voluntary and she had requested that her guards let no one in unless they asked her first. In such a way, it did not look like the Empress and the Champion of the Empire were at odds. Wu just wanted stability for the country now and she would gain it through lies if she had to.

She felt Dawn Star coming before she was at the door and stood up to open the door for her. Ever since Dirge, she felt the essence of her friends when they were close enough. She hoped for their sake that they did not feel her.

She had not seen her friend alone since Sun Li had been killed. She understood why no one wished to see her alone.

The guards moved aside when she opened the door and she welcomed her friend in. "Please, please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

Dawn Star nodded and Wu made it herself. They did not speak the entire time and Wu allowed herself to be lost in the preparations. Eventually she sat down, across from her friend and poured the tea.

Dawn Star was wearing court finery and she did not look uncomfortable in it. It suited her and reminded Wu that her friend was rightfully a princess. She knew she must look a bit disheveled but with her public outings very well planned out, she always knew her schedule and when she did and did not have to be presentable.

"You look like the mad hermit that the guards are making you out to be," Dawn Star said.

"Oh good. I was hoping to cultivate that opinion. It would keep them from speculating on others."

They drank their tea in silence again.

Wu finished her cup first. She placed it carefully on the table between them and said, "I'm sorry."

Before Dawn Star could say anything, she continued. "I'm sorry for what I did. I knew that I would lose my friends forever by doing it, but I saw no other way."

"There is always another way," her friend said.

"And someone once told me that you should take every chance you get," she retorted.

"And who gave you that poor advice?" Dawn Star said mildly.

"Zu!" His name scorched the air. She hadn't said it in months but thought it every second.

Perhaps it was the emotion behind her outburst, but Dawn Star dropped her serene façade and showed concern. "When did he say that?"

It came like a torrent, like Two Rivers in the spring after the snow melted. From her sparring in Tien's Landing to her last glimpse of him while trapped by Sun Li, she told all, now not caring if Dawn Star hated or was shamed or shocked by her. She had lost everything to save the Empire, everything but the truth and she gave that to her friend, every last word of it until she had nothing more in her.

"I loved him so much," she ended.

As the last words left her mouth, she realized she was sobbing and Dawn Star was next to her, stroking her hair and whispering, "You carried it all alone…" with no judgment in her voice, just sadness and love.

And they sat there like that until Wu fell asleep. She did not dream.