Lady Arriane, a patron of the arts, contemplated writing a confession. Inside her chamber, she adjusted her chair, sat at the escritoire, and whispered to herself, "Better now than never."
At the top of the parchment, she carefully wrote the name Tristan Mendez… then froze. She should have done this a long time ago, but instead she had waited, letting guilt gnaw at her conscience.
She thought of the values her parents had instilled—honor, restraint, conviction—all of which she had forsaken. Her parents would have been disappointed to know that she had traded good judgement for wounded pride and unrequited affection. She was an elf of noble blood, raised on ideals of fairness and conviction, and yet she had allowed herself to be compromised. What a shame…
She inherited their family's business: the harvesting of mana, or powerstones. That made her rich and sought after by politicians and businessmen. She increased her wealth and reach through trading and land acquisitions.
