[tatsuhime is in the care of the queen. lady rio is helping to mentor the imperial princesses. kyoami trains his strength. when kaede is not with the empress, she visits each member of her own little clan with treats or a small meal. it is important to know how they all fare. layre has run; now he gazes upon the stars with such intensity that lady kaede experiences it in her own chest. small steps carry her to his side. she does not speak, only turns her face up to the pale moon.]

tatsuhime is in the care of the queen.

lady rio is helping to mentor the imperial princesses.

kyoami trains his strength.

when kaede is not with the empress, she visits each member of her own little clan with treats or a small meal. it is important to know how they all fare.

layre has run; now he gazes upon the stars with such intensity that lady kaede experiences it in her own chest.

small steps carry her to his side. she does not speak, only turns her face up to the pale moon.

[leo. north star. layre teaches kaede something each time they are together. she has come to treasure this. her wrists feel strangely emptied. her children are leaving her. she has created a fiction which gives them pride and status, a half-truth. but this man, he holds the reality. kaede wonders but does not speak. in mandarin, in the tongue he is learning, she points and says the word for lion. what else? she asks him, eyes shining in the soft light.]

leo.

north star.

layre teaches kaede something each time they are together. she has come to treasure this.

her wrists feel strangely emptied. her children are leaving her. she has created a fiction which gives them pride and status, a half-truth.

but this man, he holds the reality.

kaede wonders but does not speak.

in mandarin, in the tongue he is learning, she points and says the word for lion. what else? she asks him, eyes shining in the soft light.