San was struck by the feeling of déjà vu when she walked into the room. Lu Ba had removed his bloodied shirt and was huddled in a dark corner of the room. He jumped up when she shut the door, still holding his nose. "San, are you okay? You're pale."

She shook her head and crossed the room to stand next to him. Gently removing his fingers, she checked him for breaks. He winced as she applied pressure. "Well, your nose isn't broken. Its going to be red and swollen for a few days though." Blood was still trickling out at a slow pace, so she picked up his ruined shirt and tore off a strip. "Here. I sent my father a message. He should return with someone to check this out."

"San." He grabbed her hands away from his face and held them in his own. "I'm fine. My pride's a little bruised, but I'm okay."

"I know," she said, exhaling loudly and sitting on the floor, pulling him with her. "I guess I'm just a little worked up."

Ba chuckled. "No kidding. I didn't think you'd find us. I thought your brothers were just going to rough me up a little. I wasn't expecting Liu Bei's son to be there. To be honest, I don't think your brothers did either."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged, releasing her hands. "Liu Chan showed up after the three of us went into the barn. He convinced the twins that their grievance was shared by him. We argued and that's when you showed."

"Ba, what did you say to Chan? He was upset that you insulted him."

"I would never waste any of my good insults on him." San glared at him and he laughed. "He told me to stop getting too close to you, that you belonged to him. I told him you weren't a plaything. Then he started calling me scum, a Wu bastard and other things I probably shouldn't repeat. But when he finished , I told him, 'I may be a prisoner, but I got closer to her than you ever will.' That's when he punched me in the face."

San stared at him for a minute, forcing that usual blush back from rising into her face. Then she shook her head, smiling. "That was a fine time to let your mouth run away with you. Still, I'm flattered Ba."

"Happy to help." He leaned back and studied her face for a moment. "Why did you send me away? I could have told them they were mistaken."

"After what you said to Chan, I doubt they would have believed you. My brothers are adept at twisting around someone's words to suit their purposes. But if I told them myself, I knew they would believe me."

Lu Ba nodded and reached up to touch his nose, as if making sure it was still there. "Do you ever think about that?"

"About what?"

"How close we were under your mother's tree. I…well…I haven't been able to get it out of my head."

San rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm sure that hasn't been your first close encounter with a woman."

"Okay, you got me. My mother does things like that all the time. I think she does it to unnerve me."

"Excluding your mother."

He shook his head. "Then no, I've never been that close before," he said. "Not that there aren't girls back home who don't try. Zhou Xing's sister in particular has a daily quota that she tries to fill. But I can never tell if they're attracted to me as a person or if they want to be a part of the legacy I carry."

"Will you tell me your story now?" San asked. "You promised to give me the true account of what happened."

"Yeah, I think you're ready. But you've got to tell me yours."

"Deal."

"Very well." He sat up straight and took a deep breath. "My mother had been a servant in Wu for over ten years when she first encountered her brother, Zhou Tai. He had found her in the stable with his sword, and she fainted when she returned it to him. His presence reawakened some kind of nightmare that she'd had since she was a child. Together with my father, Lu Meng, Zhou Tai checked the records and found out that Li Tai was his sister. Lord Sun Jian made her a noblewoman. This caused an issue with one of the servants who tried to frame my mother. In the end, my father discovered the ruse and the servant was banished. My parents married shortly after.

"Everything was fine until Sun Jian, Huang Gai and my father went on a border patrol mission. They were caught by a mercenary working for Cao Cao at the time, a man named Cheng. He had lusted after my mother for a number of years and saw her rise to nobility as a way to get rid of my uncle and marry her himself. But my mother thwarted his plans. With the Sun children and my uncle, she was able to free the captives. She killed Cheng in a duel to save her life and everyone else's, and Sun Jian drove off the remnants of Cao Cao's army. After making peace with the serving woman and getting everyone home, my parents settled into their new lives together. Then they had me, and the chaos continued to ensue." His tone was playful, but San could see the seriousness in his eyes.

"My father met my mother when she was also a servant," she began. "At the time, she was employed in the house of a Yellow Turban officer. My father's unit was sent to flush out the remains of Zhang Jiao's army. During the fighting, my mother led some of his men to where her master had escaped. She was unafraid, and that led the men to keep her around as amusement. Zhao Yun caught them pushing her around in their camp and sent them away. He tried to comfort Mei Li, thanking her for her help and offering her a place in Shu. Eventually, he won her trust and she chose to remain with him. The men who had abused her, however, escaped with her former master into the woods.

"To thank her for her help, Lord Liu Bei made my mother a noblewoman. For an entire year, she lived among the officers of Shu and learned what it meant to live a better life. She had a lot of suitors, but she shunned them all, saying that she could not marry until she felt comfortable with where she was. My father and his friend, Jiang Wei, were sent on a mission shortly after. But they never returned home. Frantic with worry, one of Jiang Wei's friends in the treasury room encouraged my mother to go and look for them. She found them in the hands of her former master and the men who had betrayed Zhao Yun. After rescuing Jiang Wei, they used an old plan of Zhuge Liang's to scare the remaining officers away and set their camp on fire. They found my father afterwards, barely alive, and brought him home after killing the man who had caused them so much suffering. My parents married shortly after he recovered."

The two were silent for a moment. Then Lu Ba gave a characteristic chuckle. "Do you realize how similar our stories sound?" he said.

"Yeah. We're both children of legends, known for our parents but not as individuals."

"True. But there's more to it. Our mothers rose above their stations to become saviors. Our fathers married them for their strength and not for their stories. Maybe…maybe its not an accident that we were born into these families, San. Maybe we were also meant to meet in battle, to find each other and help us stand apart from our parents. Maybe together, we can create those legends we seek for ourselves."

She could only nod. Her eyes were lost in his deep brown orbs. Could it be that they were fated to meet? Perhaps Ba was right. But how would they accomplish the impossible? He was nothing more than a servant himself now, and she would be relegated to petty noblewoman if Chan got his way. The odds, it seemed, were still not in their favor.

Something warm touched her cheek, and she realized without looking that it was his hand. He moved to cup her face and she leaned into it automatically. It fit as if her cheek was meant to be there all along. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the warmth of his hand flow though her face and into the rest of her body. Like before, when she had embraced him after the attack, it felt wonderful. It felt right.

When she opened her eyes, she noticed that he was closer than before. San could see her reflection in his eyes and could feel the heat from his own body on her bare skin. She couldn't help but smile as she rested her forehead on his own. San was no longer a high ranking officer; Lu Ba was no longer a prisoner. They were just two young people taking comfort in each other after a long trial. It felt so natural that San barely noticed her head tilting to meet his, the sweet smell of his breath on her nose, the brushing of his lips against her own…

A knock on the door jolted them both back to reality. The couple jerked away from each other. "Curses," San hissed under her breath. "Composure! Maintain your composure." Ba nodded. She turned and yelled for the knocker to come in. Mei Li entered first, carrying a bowl of water and some strips of cloth. Zhao Yun followed her, his eyes settling on his red faced daughter. "Good, you got my message."

Yun nodded. "The guard told me Lu Ba had returned with a significant injury to his nose. Then he said you showed up to demand myself, medicine and food."

"Gods, Lu Ba, what happened?" Mei Li asked as she knelt down between her daughter and her servant. "This took force. Is it broken?"

"No," he said, wincing again as she touched it.

Zhao Yun shut the door completely and sat down on the cot. "What happened? Did one of my sons do this?"

San shook her head. "No, father. If it was, I would have found you myself. But this needs to remain a secret for now."

"Who would strike a servant in my home without due cause? Unless," he glanced at Ba, "you gave it to someone."

"There was no justification. Liu Chan punched him out of spite."

Mei Li gasped as she washed Lu Ba's face. "Liu Chan? Goodness, this is worse than I thought. He must be more upset about this situation than I thought. He's always been a rather well behaved boy."

"I see the seriousness of the situation now," Zhao Yun said. His eyes were grave.

"Father, Lu Ba and I cannot stay in Cheng Du anymore. We need to get him away before we make any more decisions about his future, or mine. If this gets any further out of control, I fear we may have a more serious battle close to home."

"Indeed. We can no longer wait for Jiang Wei's plans." He turned to his wife, who nodded in understanding. Perhaps they had already had a similar conversation, San thought. "We cannot move either of you tonight. But we cannot wait long. I do not want word of whatever happened tonight spreading through the castle. Lu Ba, you are to remain here in this room until I instruct you to move elsewhere. I am sorry, but it is the only way I can protect you right now. San, you are to do the same. No morning practices, no wandering around the capital. I will have meals sent to both of you. I will also make sure Guan Ping and Zhang Shao are aware of these plans so you will not be bored.

"Mei Li," he said, turning to his wife, "I need you to find the twins and tell them to come to our quarters. They also need to be aware of these plans. Then we will draft our letter to Jiang Wei. I want to have San and Ba out of here by this time tomorrow." She nodded and silently left the room.

San turned to her father. "How will we get Ba out of the capital? He's still a prisoner."

"Leave that part up to me. I have an idea of how to word it to Liu Bei. Lu Ba's presence has already caused an uproar in Cheng Du. Most people will be happy to see him gone. The problem is in preventing it from looking like a betrayal."

"I trust you, father." San stood to leave as well, wanting to get away from the thoughts that were beginning to take over her brain. As she made to go, her father grabbed her hand.

"San, I trust you as well. Do not ever forget that." Zhao Yun's face was stoic, but she could see traces of worry in the lines on his brow. Nodding, she turned and left the room.

That night marked another lonely vigil for San. Tong and Guang had showed up shortly after she returned to her room to apologize. They insisted that they had come on their own. She had doubted them until Mei Li showed up, still looking for the twins. Their conversation had eased some of her worry. We didn't think it would be a problem, Guang had said. We just wanted to put him in his place. Tong had agreed, saying, We didn't mean to get Chan involved. But if that Wu boy gets any closer, we can't promise that we'll behave.

In a way, she understood. Despite all their pranks and bantering, the three of them were family. Her brothers had always looked out for her above all else. Hadn't they always protected her from Chan when he became too much? Didn't they always stick up for her when her parents gave her that uncertain look? San knew, deep inside, that she would always do the same things for them. She had forgiven them before they left the room.

She refused to think about the situation with Liu Chan. Now that his true feelings were out in the open, there was no telling what he would do. And now Xing Cai would certainly try to do something. San and Cai never had problems before. Mostly, Shao's sister had just existed to San. They fought together and trained together, but that was the extent of their friendship. Unless her brothers could talk some sense into her, Cai would likely come after San now.

Still, there was one memory from the day they kept her mind calmer. Curse Lu Ba and his sweet talking! Now she couldn't get him out of her head. San knew she was being unfair, that Ba really meant everything he said. But he had awakened something in her that she didn't know existed. It wasn't natural to be this attached to another person, much less a man. It wasn't right to feel comfortable around a Shu prisoner. It wasn't good to keep thinking about him, hoping for another chance to be close to him again. And yet, somewhere in her heart, she knew it was.

Someone knocked on her door later into the night, no doubt one of her parents coming to check on her. San stood from her seat and moved to the door, only to find Guan Ping's face on the other side. She let him in when she saw the worry in his eyes. "Ping, what's wrong?"

He shrugged and sat down on the edge of her bed. She joined him, pulling her legs underneath her. "I needed to make sure you were okay," he said after a while.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were pretty worked up after the incident with Chan. That, and I was talking with Zhang Shao and Xing Cai burst into the room, demanding some kind of vengeance. It took a while to calm her down." He paused and looked her face over. "San, do you realize that you're white as a sheet? Did something happen?"

She sighed heavily. "I have to get out of the capital, Ping. And I need to take Lu Ba with me. Its no longer safe."

"I see. When do we leave?"

She jerked her head around to meet his. "What? Did my father talk to you already?"

"What? No, he didn't. But he's a fool if he thinks that Shao and I are going to let you two slip out of Cheng Du so easily. We're friends till the end, San. Remember?"

San nodded. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against his shoulder. He put a comforting arm around her own in return. It was a gesture of friendship and nothing more. "I think we're leaving tomorrow night. Will that be enough time for you and Shao to prepare?"

"Of course. We've managed in less time before." He gave her shoulders a squeeze before removing his arm. "I'll go and talk to Lord Zhao Yun in the morning. Whatever plan he comes up with, we will need to convince my father and Zhang Fei that you need protection."

"Lu Ba was right," San said, smirking.

"About what?"

"He said that I was lucky to have such wonderful friends. I knew that before. But its moments like these that remind me of how truly blessed I am."

Ping nodded. "Lu Ba is blessed as well, to have met such a wonderful person as you. I hope, one day, he realizes the full extent of that."

"Do you think he takes our friendship for granted?"

"I don't know, San. I only hope that if he does, he realizes his folly before its too late. In the end, you are of Shu and he is of Wu. I would be disappointed in him if it took losing you to discover the extent of his own feelings."

A/N: Ah, doesn't it make your heart feel all warm and fuzzy to see such love and friendship among the people of Shu? Anyway, the stage is set for a long journey. But where will it take our heroes? And which of our heroes will even be in attendance? Stay tuned!

Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers for your continued support!