She's beautiful. Any fool can see that. As she looked up at me, her chin tilted up, it struck me just how elegant she was. The court painter did her no justice. Those large, dark blue eyes, those full, soft (and lets face it, kissable) lips – Jonathan and Thayet gave her their best features and she made them entirely her dazzling own. Even those freckles across her nose from too much sun, only partially hidden by a dusting of face powder, add to her charm.

And yet, regardless how attractive Kalasin of Conté is, there is something missing. She holds her head slightly to one side which at times makes her look like she is questioning something, but at others… When I spoke to her this evening, briefly it's true, it was like she had left part of her back in Tortall and she yearned after it. Does that sound silly?

I'm worried that maybe I hoped for too much. She could never have lived up to my expectations of her, this princess from across the ocean. So many people had praised her beauty, her intelligence, her wit, her athleticism. Did I hope for more than she could have ever been? One person in particular praised her the most – gave me the most explicit details of her conversation and her activities. Kalasin was elevated higher and higher with every letter and yet, she never reached the dizzying heights of her champion. She could never have surpassed Daine.