[ It is strange to admit that she had never been the kind of child to enjoy such idle stories, that she had not been of the ilk to wander into it and find such desires. She had always longed for power, for strength, to grow beyond the court; it had felt more like a prison than anything she had ever seen in the storybooks.

She had wanted to rise up and chase power, to be like the magic users in the histories. She did not expect the cost. ]

I did not heed it either.

[ What is respectable? Why does it matter, what parent wish for? Her own memory of them is foggy, but she does not know if that is because she chose to forget or if time had caused such a distance. It is not as if they cared much for her to begin with.

Walking around, she tucks some of the blankets and pillows around one another before she breathes out. ]

My parents had chosen one, I think, but I left before agreements could be made. I did not desire such a thing, not with a stranger. If I was to be with someone, it would be one I chose for myself.

[ She glances at Astarion, shy, cheeks a touch red. ]

When I was most small, I dreamed only of friendship.