Here is lady Elyse's speech. I know it is to be aired on the report but I wasn't sure if there was a live audience. I did it with a life audience- I hope you don't mind. I can take out parts about it easily if there is not.
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Walking up to the podium, Elyse gulped. She hardly ever talked in front of this many people- especially about things she was passionate about. She tended to keep those inside and instead focus on mundane things- stuff that didn't matter. Taking a deep breath, she practiced the strategy she'd gone over earlier. Her whole life, her and her mother had been close. They'd spent so many evenings beside the flickering fire talking about a whole manner of things.
She was a different person around her mom- more serious, more real. She let her emotions out. Closing her eyes for a moment, she pictured the thoughtful expression that her mom often wore during their discussions. She could see the light from the fire on her older face, her laugh lines flicking in and out of view. Keeping that in her mind as she opened her eyes, she began to speak. Elyse was acutely aware of the people watching her- as well as the cameras. She felt a shiver in her chest as she opened her mouth to talk.
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"At heart- I am an environmentalist. I grew up on a farm, planting seeds and harvesting fields. It was just me and my mother, plus a few hired hands. I have been in nature my whole life, from the moment I was born to the second I will die. I have spent afternoons in the forest, singing to the animals and trees. It is what I call home. Because of that, I have a connection with nature." Pausing for a moment, Elyse took a breath before revealing her power. She slowly let the vines of a potted plant she had brought out crawl up her arm.
"I can draw energy from the plants surrounding me, as well as control them. But my control isn't overpowering. It is about balance- about finding the perfect middle. I draw out enough energy to help myself- but leave enough so the plant cannot die. That concept of balance is what I live by. But that concept is something our government does not understand."
