Sir Aron tugged his coat tighter around his chest. In one hand he held a stack of neatly bound papers, weeks of negotiation, calculation, and endless drafting condensed into a crisp summary of success or failure.
The room before him was the one that held the linchpins of the power he served.
He had walked these halls before, but every time he stood in front of the true architects of the realm, men who steered the fate of provinces with a flick of the quill.
Even as a member of the court now, a man with some voice and standing, the old tremor still crept in.
He swallowed it down.
"Your Grace," he began, bowing deeply. "My lords."
He kept his head low for a heartbeat longer than was necessary before continuing, "As per the directive of His Grace the Prince, I have conducted a series of engagements with both foreign and local merchants, all concerning the newly instituted land-leasing policy, which your wisdom has seen fit to enact."
