Aqua took a quiet breath. Her teasing tone was gone now, replaced by something soft, heavy, and nostalgic.
"In the past..." She began slowly. "...before all this madness began, before Cassius became a name whispered across the continent...he was just a small, frail boy. A boy who was born into tragedy."
Maria tilted her head gently, her full attention on the young woman, while Aqua's voice trembled faintly as she continued.
"When Cassius was born, his mother who gave him life—Lady Florence, my father's first wife—passed away during childbirth. She was the one my father loved most. More than his other wives, more than his duties, more than anything in the world. She was his light."
"And when that light was snuffed out, my father...lost his mind."
She clasped her hands together loosely as she spoke.
