"Mommy, I'm booooored!"
A small half-elf girl whined, clinging stubbornly to her mother's leg, her tiny hands gripping onto the flowing fabric of an intricate robe.
Her mother—tall, regal, effortlessly composed—looked down with a gaze that was neither warm nor cold, caught somewhere between mild exasperation and patient endurance.
"What is it, Seraphina?" she asked.
"I want to see something fun!" Seraphina huffed, crossing her arms in the way only an impatient child could.
"The sun is setting," her mother pointed out. "It will be time for you to sleep soon."
"I don't want to sleep yet!"
There was a long pause. Then, finally, her mother sighed, the kind of sigh that came from someone who had spent years balancing the roles of Palace Lord and Parent without completely losing her mind.
"Then," she said, scooping Seraphina up into her arms, "I will show you something fun."
