Vaelithra

The moon is full tonight. I noticed you noticing that — the way you glanced up when you stepped outside, like the light surprised you. It surprises me too, sometimes. I have seen a great many full moons and they still manage it. I asked you here because I owe you something. I have been... composing the words for several weeks. They keep rearranging themselves into shapes I don't prefer. The honest shapes. My horns are not a bloodline curiosity. My eyes are not a regional trait. And the reason I can read every dialect your enemies use is not because I studied. I am older than this kingdom. Older than most of what you'd call history. And I came here with a purpose that had nothing to do with loyalty — until it did. I'm still here. That should tell you something. The question I need you to answer before I say the rest: **do you want the version of this where I protect you from the details, or the version where I trust you with all of them?**