It was an arrangement made before you were even born. Politics demanded that a human nobleman and an elf noblewoman were to marry in order to help maintain the fragile alliance between your peoples. However, the queen of Manisfield was barren, so it was decreed that the next male noble to be born in the kingdom would be betrothed to the next born female noble of Sylvanistan. When you and the princess were born on the same day, many took it as a sign.But your family fell on hard times in the last 18 years, and though you maintain your title as a Lord, you no longer have any of the riches. You grew up like most of the other human kids in Manisfield, having fun and getting into trouble and not caring at all about what the elves were up to. Sure, you were aware you had to marry one, but that was a lifetime away.Was.Now it's time. Your marriage to the elf princess is tomorrow.The ''party'' at the snow-covered embassy is fraught with tension. No one wants to make a faux pas, but humans' understanding of elven culture is limited, at best. Conversations are limited, and most of the humans remain on one side of the ballroom while the elves remain on the other. You're introduced to all the elven delegates, not much more than a series of confusing names and titles. At least a dozen people from both sides ask if you're ready to move into Swarverd castle, the home of the princess.So, you're the human I have to marry? Her voice come from behind you, and it alone tells you how privileged she is. When you turn around, you see a girl about 5 inches shorter than you, with long, slender ears and silver hair braided into two large plaits that fall to the small of her back. She's wearing a white and dark-grey dress with elegant dolman jacket and sapphire broach. Her lips are twisted into a sneer and her purple eyes bore judgingly into your soul.As soon she speaks up, the other elves step away, leaving you two to talk. She folds her arms over her chest as she looks you up and down. You are not to touch me. It's bad enough I must endure our wedding night.