Sana spent her time in front of a mirror, perfecting herself to fit her mother's standards. She can hear the faint voice of her mother calling her name. Looking into the mirror one more time, she nodded in approval. 

Sana slowly walked down the stairs. Her father had passed when she was just a child. This left her and her mother with a large amount of money and a beautiful mansion. Despite this, her mother wanted her to be the perfect housewife, wanting her to marry a wealthy man. She saw her mother waiting at the foot of the stairs. "There you are Sana! It's almost time for tea with the Smiths. How will you marry a wealthy man if you're always late?" Her mother spoke with a loud voice and kept her chin up. She was elegant, Sana tried to be like her but it didn't feel right. 

"I'm sorry mother, I was making myself look presentable." Sana was quite the opposite, talking in a small and polite voice.

Her mother smiled warmly at her, it was her way of saying she loved her. "Hurry now, William and Tzuyu are waiting outside. The carriage should be ready by now." 

She scrunched her eyebrows, "Tzuyu? Where's Jane?" Jane had been their maid since her father died, Sana grew close to her as she was more of a mother figure. 

"Something with her family, now stop the questions. You need to go or you'll be late," With that, she began to feel her mother push her towards the front door. Before she could say goodbye her mother already disappeared farther into the house. 

She sighed and continued down the front steps. A tall man dressed in simple clothing and a woman in a black dress was waiting for her. Once the two saw her, they quickly stopped their conversation and straightened their posture. The man, William, stepped closer to the carriage and opened the door. "Miss Sana."

She stepped in, and William shut the door gently. Both the lady and William sat at the front. He grabbed the ropes for the horses and gave them a click for them to start moving. Sana watched them from the open window, feeling drawn to the woman. She was about her age, her hair tied up in a neat, low bun. The new maid was poise, she had Sana curious.

None of them had said a word at all, the only noise was made from the horses. The road was smooth, it was like all of the bumps had disappeared. It wasn't foreign to her, she had been going to the Smith household for the past week. They had a son, and they were rich. That's what her mother wanted for her.

She sat back comfortably. Sana then found herself distracted by the leaves flying by in the air. "Miss Sana, we've arrived at the Smith household," her attention was ripped away by a woman's voice. She looked forward, the time had passed by so quickly. William brought the carriage to the front of the house. Tzuyu got down to assist Sana.

Tzuyu opened the door, she stood to the side as Sana got out. She tried to go down gracefully but she tripped on her own feet, causing her to stumble. Tzuyu quickly reached out, grabbing her hand to steady her. Sana nearly flinched at the sensation, Tzuyu's hand was warm and fitted perfectly in hers. 

Another maid approached them, Sana quickly let go of Tzuyu's hand. Though she regretted it, missing the feeling of her warm hand in hers. "The Smiths are ready for you, Miss," Sana nodded, looking at Tzuyu once more before going inside.

***

Tea with the Smiths was the usual. The father and son had talked about the war. Sana and the mother had talked about some of the latest gossips.

They were on their way back home, the sun setting in the background. She was looking out the window, mesmerized by the leaves again. "Why do the leaves fall?" She hadn't realized she said her thought out loud until a voice startled her. "The trees preserve their energy by getting rid of their leaves in the winter, it's so they could survive," the voice came from Tzuyu, Sana had invited her to sit in the carriage with her. 

Sana was shocked, she wasn't expecting an answer from the maid. "How did you know that?" 

"My brother taught me to read, I like to do it in my free time." 

She became interested, "What else do you know?"

Tzuyu shrugged, "What else would you like to know?" 

***

Ever since the conversation about leaves in the carriage, they had grown closer to each other more. Sana felt attracted to her, she was smart and answered her many questions. She would make sure Sana understood everything she said. Sometimes she would even ask a question about Sana, of course, she checked if it was okay with her first before she did. 

They were on their way to another tea session with the Smiths, Tzuyu sitting in the carriage with Sana. "Tell me more about your family." 

Tzuyu sat there for a moment before speaking, "My brother went to fight in the war, I haven't heard from him since. My father fell ill, that's why I had to work here." She paused for a short moment, "I never met my mother, Miss Sana."

Sana sat there quietly, she was afraid she might've made Tzuyu uncomfortable. "Why do you always call me Miss Sana?" 

"Well, it is your name and I do work for you," she smirked. "What else would I call you?" 

She thought about it for a few seconds, Sana was her only name. She had no special nickname. "Just Sana would be fine, it's less formal."

"Sana," she tested it out. This made her feel butterflies for some reason. "Well then if you're Sana, then you can just call me Tzu." Sana smiled widely at this.

***

She didn't know how and when, but she had managed to start falling in love with Tzuyu. Sana knew it wouldn't be allowed, they were both women. But as they say, you'd always be willing to fight for someone you love. 

They were walking in the garden together, Tzuyu was talking about the stuff her and her brother had done when they were children, making Sana laugh. Their laughter died down as they both stared at each other's eyes. Sana finally got the courage to say it, "I love you."

Tzuyu smiled sadly, "At least I got to hear it once from you." Sana furrowed her brows at this. "Your mother is marrying you off to the Smith's son." She struggled to find the words to respond to this. "Thank you, for letting me get to know and love you."

"Tzu," she began holding her hands. "This doesn't have to end here. I don't love him. We can run away, far from here. We can be together, Tzuyu." Sana looked desperately into her eyes. 

"You can't do that Sana," her voice was breaking. "I know you wouldn't want to disappoint your mother. Even if I was a man, I don't have any money. You don't deserve a life like that." 

Sana shook her head, letting all the tears fall from her eyes. Tzuyu pulled her in, her chin resting on top of her head. "I'm going to war. I heard some women had dressed up as a man to fight. I'm thinking of doing the same."

Sana pulled away slightly to look at Tzuyu. "You can't do that. You could die. What would happen to your father if you died?" Sana did care about Tzuyu's father, but she was more worried about how she would take it if she found out Tzuyu died in the war. Though she couldn't use this excuse to convince her not to go, she already knew what Tzuyu was going to say if she had said that. 

"Then I'll volunteer to be a nurse. I'm the only reason that's stopping you from being a good daughter to your mother, I can't stay." she looked at Sana, studying her eyes. "Promise me you'll do what your mother says, you'll go marry him," Sana hesitantly nodded.

Tzuyu let go, casting one last look at Sana before she walked off to who knows where. Sana stood there paralyzed, she wanted to run after her, she wanted to beg her to stay. Instead, she stood there, watching Tzuyu's disappearing figure. 

***

Her life had turned sad again, just the way it was before Tzuyu came. The man she was to be married to had died from the flu before they could even be engaged. Her mother was disappointed, if they married sooner, Sana would have inherited his money.

Her mother had died as well, old age caught up to her quickly. This left Sana alone in their mansion, she dismissed all their maids and workers. To fill in her emptiness she started reading, taking her mind off things and travelling to the worlds in the books. 

Marking her page in the book she was reading, she stood up and stretched. She had been sitting in a chair for hours. Standing near the window, she glanced outside.

She smiled seeing the leaves falling from their branches. It reminded her of simpler times. Her eyes wandered to a lady walking towards the house. 

The woman's hair was down, it reached her hip and flew freely in the wind. Sana's eyes widened, she knew that walk, she knew that posture.

It was her Tzu.