Name: Lady Cassiopeia "Pippa" Bennett
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Class: Courtier
Physical Description: Pippa is known for being somewhat tall and athletic, a trait that she inherited from her father’s side, and from her grandmother on her other side. And, true to form, she has a metabolism from hell on top of a polite lady's diet. Pippa is pretty much rail thin for one thing. She has reasonable muscle definition, since she likes to keep herself in shape, mostly because she can. Pippa loves to eat, but she limits herself because god forbid she gain a single pound. Even so, she likes her thin frame which allows her to wear anything she wants. She doesn’t have much of a chest, or a butt, but they definitely exist, and it only puts her a little bit underweight. Her frame is small and delicate, and even with lots of calcium she still has a tendency to break a bone if she’s not careful. But she won’t stop wearing daring footwear, doing dares and stupid crap, ect just because she could break something. Pssha that would be wimping out. She’s also lanky, with long arms and legs, and slender long fingers.
Her skin is a very light olive, sometimes her skin tone is mistaken for a rather pale pink. She can tan, but it’s not a life goal for her. If she does tan it’s because she’s been outside lounging around in the summertime heat, or has been out riding. Her face is oval shaped, with round eyes. Her lips are a little bit thin for her liking, and so are her eyelashes, but those are an easy fix with the right make-up. Pippa is VERY sensitive about her skin, since she used to have bad break out randomly when she was younger, before she got an lotion from her mother that helped a lot. She’s still particular about what she uses on her skin, sticking with nothing, but using mineral powders when need be.
Pippa has a pair of humongous blue eyes that she inherited from her mother, that rage from dark blue, to icy blue in different lightings. Her hair is a golden blonde color, which she dyes with henna sometimes depending on her mood, so it can be anywhere from platinum blonde, to golden blonde, and even close to a light reddish brown. But she never goes far from her blonde roots. She has highlights, platinum blonde ones that are hard to see in some lighting. When her hair is straight the longest strands fall to the middle of her back, and she normally wears it in big, loose curls. Her rather long blonde hair is naturally wavy, and tends to frizz and go everywhere if she doesn’t do anything to it. It’s like hell to get her hair to behave on the worst of days, or to get it to a state that is manageable. Pippa likes to wear her hair in loose curls most the time, softer than her natural frizzy waves, and not as hard to do as getting it sleek and straight, which is a nightmare if the weather is causing her hair to frizz. In some lights her hair is a golden blonde. Although, in bright light or during the summer, Pippa’s hair tends to become a lighter shade of blonde with gold highlights. Her eyes are her favorite feature, followed by her hair which tends to be unmanageable when it comes down to it.
She dresses like almost anyone in her world would: in the latest fashions, colors and clothes, courtesy of her mother and sister. She’ll wear anything, and is beyond adventurous with the clothing she has. It comes with the territory of growing up in Pemberton. Her usual color palette consists of red, green, brown, white or gold pieces or whatever other color she finds that floats her happy little boat. While during the day she wears toned down versions of popular designs, or her older dresses was on top of the drawer. At night she goes all out, being thorough with her glittery accessories and metallics.
Native Duchy: Pemberton
History: Lady Cassiopeia "Pippa" Bennett was born on August 2nd at 12:13 am in the Duchy to Lord Alexander Bennett and his wife Lady Victoria Whittier. Alex was a very well known lord who was known for raising horses; Tori however was a very popular lady in court with three other daughters and Pippa’s older brother Simon. By the time Pippa was born her parent’s marriage was held together by some very unstable strings, and before her first birthday Alex had separated from Tori and had moved himself to a separate room in Starsliegh Manor. He wasn’t planning on returning to his wife but his children begged him to at least come to terms with Tori. And he did, more for his children than for his wife. But then her father's health began to fail, and Pippa was never happy about that. So Simon and their Uncle began taking over the duties that their father found to tiring, while Pippa and the other girls had to wait and see.
As children, Simon, Isabelle, Elizabeth and Cassiopeia had an understanding, one that kept them safe from their eldest sister Jane. Pippa, though unlike the rest of her siblings, never was really terrified by Jane, but she did see the aftermath of Jane and their mother's reign on her sister Lizzie. It was especially after their father's death. However, Pippa didn’t much care, she was too young to really understand, and she had great sisters and a brother who supported her and loved her very much. As they got older, Isabel was practically a surrogate mother to Pippa, and when she left there was a giant hole in her life where her sister belonged.
Her childhood wasn’t very exiting, just a normal life with the few perks that came with their family's position in the nobility. The girls flourished in Pemberton, Pippa with her exuberance, Lizzie with her riding and Isabel with her books. Pippa grew up in the shadow of her sisters, but no matter how much Pippa tried, she was always bested by Isabelle. While Pippa was good at being a noble, Isabel was a genius, although she was socially awkward. Every single one of Pippa’s governesses compared Pippa to her sister at least once in their instruction. It was annoying, although Pippa probably knew her siblings better than anyone. For much of their life all they had was each other, so Bella and Lizzie became sort of a surrogate mothers as well as older sisters.
Pippa was most upset when her Isabelle moved to Marchford with her new husband and to a new life without Pippa. Pippa thought it was her time to shine… and in a way it was. Her popularity soared in court as people began to like her more than her foul-tempered and slightly psychotic sister, Lizzie in court. But she was still being compared to Liz, a fact that she didn’t like much. At all.
Pippa was allowed to go to court when she turned fourteen, unlike her sister Lizzie, a fact that she used a lot when she was upset at her older sister and wanted to pick a fight. She generally flirts outrageously when she can, but doesn't care much for her mother, though she generally agrees with her mother's plans for her life. She plans to get married, have kids and be the perfect courtier, though a little bit more exuberant than a normal lady would be.
Parents:
Lord Alexander Bennett – Elizabeth’s father who died of consumption about twelve years before. Lizzie loved the man, and part of her knew that she was her father’s favorite, because she possessed many of the same personality traits as he did and inherited his bright red hair. Lady Tori has done everything she possibly could to forget him, including re-marrying to his best friend Lord Seeley, and brutally training Lizzie into her picture perfect child.
Lady Victoria Whittier – A vain and spoiled woman who was the lowest of the low in terms of nobility until she married Lord Alexander. Though it was not for love at all, but mere status that she did wed him, she produced five children for him, including his heir, Lord Simon. With his death she began to plan, using her daughters for leverage and marrying her late husband’s best friend to further herself in the world. Her greatest regret is that she didn’t try to stamp out Lizzie’s rebellious nature sooner, though she keeps the girl on a short leash still while most of her other children with Lord Alex are already married off. She had two other children, the twin Ladies Cecily and Kathrine Sibbell, with her second husband Lord Seeley Sibbell.
Lord Seeley Sibbell – The second husband of Lady Tori, who’s late wife also gave him three children. He does love Lord Alex’s children like his own, but is often away and leaves them in the care of his wife and the servants. He had a hard time getting through to Lizzie and her siblings but one by one he won them over, Lizzie the last one to forgive him at all. He tries his best to protect Lizzie from her mother’s wrath as the scapegoat and the black sheep of the family. His heir is Lord Doyal, who is still unmarried.
Siblings:
Lady Jane Whittier – 21, married into the Ashton Duchy- not particularly fond of any of her siblings, and one of the most gossiped about lady in her day, Jane thrives on her beauty and being nasty. Her favorite practice toy was Lizzie before the stable incident, but now she just ignores Lizzie’s existence. It is rumored that she isn’t the daughter of Lord Alexander, but is Lady Tori’s by another man. A commoner perhaps.
Lord Simon Bennett – 20, married a distant relative in the Pemberton Duchy – Pippa’s golden brother who she looks up to most in the world other than her own father. He is the one that she compares all of her mother’s attempts at getting her married off too. So far none of them have met the standard, but she still loves her brother no matter what. He was also the one who taught her to ride, and usually went off to find her when Jane was in one of her moods.
Lady Isabella Bennett – 19, married into the Marcheford Duchy – the scholar of the lot of them, even more than Lizzie. She drives her mother to madness because she never cared for fashion or intrigue, but rather loved to read and study until her eyes hurt. Perhaps that’s why she caught the eye of a Marcheford Lord, and married him without a second thought. She practically raised Pippa, especially when their mother could barely look at them after their father’s death.
Lord Doyal Sibbell – 18, unmarried – Pippa’s “horrid, ass of a brother.” Lizzie is very fond of calling him names, and vice-versa. They have never gotten along, and nearly caused a riot when Lady Tori suggested that they should possibly be betrothed. Though not technically blood relations, they have grown up together and have sworn that the other belongs in a pigsty.
Lady Elizabeth Bennett – 18, the family's black sheep – Pippa’s older sister who is so difficult that sometimes you want to stick her in a closet. She was never spoiled as a child, being the one who knew their father the best, and was their mother's least favorate person after his death. Most of the time though she is generally well behaved and is the least likely to flit around the male courtiers and flirt and would probably rather be starting a passionate debate, or a full-out war with them.
Lady Amber Sibell – 14, is coming of age this year
Lady Audry Sibell – 13, is coming of age next year
Lady Cecily Sibell – 12, twin
Lady Kathrine Sibell – 12, twin
Personality: Pippa is… well might as well get this out of the way first, completely and totally obsessed with being the perfect courtier. If it wasn’t for boys, and other things, her whole life would be devoted to the sport that she shares with...uh… her friends? Sure, she’s not the world’s best player, but she works her butt off to be as good as she is. It’s not unusual for Pippa to wander in at the end of the day, mud splattered and exhausted, with a big, goofy grin on her face because she just got something that she was working on for months.
Boys are the one thing that keeps Pippa from going into “courtier-Land.” She likes boys. She loves to flirt. It doesn’t matter who, as long as they’re cute. Bad personality? Eh, maybe a week. A badboy? Not for a serious relationship, no, but there’s nothing barring her from flirting, is there? With badboys she has a ‘look but don’t touch’ policy, but in the two weeks surrounding the both the football Homecoming game and soccer season opener, she avoids them at all costs. Pippa has a fear of commitment, so any potential fiance that she has often gets booted if anything serious about the future comes up in conversation. She’s only been the dumpee (not the dumper) a few times in her life, but it really doesn’t matter, if she has problems she runs to her friends for advice and comfort. Other than her closest friends, and maybe her older sister, Pippa tends to be a very stubborn, confident and independent individual. Often she just won’t do what people tell her. As soon as she steps out of her house she immediately oozes as much confidence as she can muster, since the world is literally her stage, at least to her it is. She doesn’t like people doing stuff for her, they can offer but she’ll turn them down. That includes opening her doors, but strangely not carrying her books. Pippa is actually a romantic at heart, but she doesn’t like that she can be so sentimental so easily, so she just ignores it and hopes it goes away with age and experience.
Pippa has a strict policy about boys who court her sisters (if any did. Silly boys), you break her heart and you’re not going to enjoy the following months. She can’t help it; she’s very protective of her older sisters, and sometimes her younger ones too. Picking on the twins might get you one, maybe two ‘get out of jail grudge free’ cards, but picking on Isabelle and Lizzie is grounds for a fight. She might not win, because she fights like a girl, but she’d be damned if she didn’t try. Even if she wins she still holds a grudge that might get you a few nasty rumors and some discrete pranks for a month at the least.
When dealing with just Pippa it’s very hard to get on her nerves. Most of the people she doesn’t like are only an annoyance, and easily forgotten. The one thing that she's really touchy about is her first name. She's Pippa, or anything else that she has approved, but not 'Cassiopeia.' If you want to hear a rant about people who name their kids odd things, call her by her full first name. Any boys that she has a crush on tend to get pushed away unless she’s really in denial, and especially if a friend has a crush on the boy too. She tries to make them dislike her, instead of dueling it out with her friends later. Most of the time she would sacrifice her happiness for those she loves or cares about, mostly because the self-sacrificing little girl gets more attention than the one who gets what they want. If there’s a prize for attention hogs, Pippa would try to take it. She cannot live without attention. She will even get on top of a table and do a kick line if she has to (she has. When she was fourteen). When she’s being ignored Pippa tends to get grumpy and annoyed with those around her. She’s just not happy if she’s not in the spotlight.
Her grandmother and mother call her ‘carelessly vain,’ since she’ll spend an hour on her hair, and hour on make-up, and dress in her old dresses and pretend she didn’t get up two hours early to do those rituals. You can always tell when she’s sick, upset, or just slept late, because her hair will either be in somewhat orderly corkscrew ringlettes, or it will be a frizzy mass of curls, almost like an afro.
Pippa loves being told secrets, and normally she doesn’t tell anyone without permission. Unfortunately, that favor is only extended to those who tell her personally, not the ones that she has to dig for. Although, it gives her good leverage over people, she doesn’t exactly divulge the rumor when agitated at said person; she just bends it and fabricates something close to it, in most cases decidedly worse. The differences tend to be just enough that she can’t get blamed for it. Pippa is of average intelligence, a big thing in her family, but when she hits something she really can’t understand, she often goes to her older sister for help. She knows Isabelle will keep her less than flattering issues between them. And her stepfather, of course. Oh, and her friends as well, because they keep Pippa at least a little bit in line.
One of Pippa’s biggest problems is the fact that she doesn’t have a very long attention span for anything that isn’t at least partially interesting. A good way to get her attention, and keep it, is to have on something shiny or sparkly. Those two properties amuse her to no end, so she tends to pay more attention to a person, instead of letting her thoughts go roaming outside to the soccer field. And if you really want to please her, give her something sparkly or shiny, or perfume. She’ll probably love you for it.
Items:
- 1 sewing kit, for embroidery work
- 2 sets of clothing:
Set one: one pale pink silk with a pink velvet overlay, cut in the popular Pemberton style of the day and decorated with a few silk flowers. She only wears it out for balls and special occasions.
Set two: one powder blue silk gown with white and silver embroidery that is her everyday gown.
Silk Chemise, Plain White Corset, Pairs of Wool Stockings with simple garters. pair of black ball slippers, pair of plain black slippers for everyday, white fan embroidered with silver and pale pink flowers, a Pemberton hood, a wire hair net, and two pairs of gloves.
- One nightdress; white silk, with light blue embroidery
- One light silver chain – simplest piece of jewelry, no jewels, just a chain.
- One personal item: her grandfather's signet ring, she keeps it in her pocket for luck
- A book of parchment, ink, and quill, with a little bit of sealing wax
- Hygienic effects: hair brush, pins (to hold the hair in place), a little bit of scent (perfume), bit of kohl, a small spool of silver wire, etc.
- the ability to sing very well, but terrible at most embroidery
- the ability to dance well
- One maid named Annie
- One pet: a small dog named Styx
Roleplay Sample:
| QUOTE |
It was midnight, the moon shining through the uncovered balcony windows. In her rather large bed, Elizabeth Bennett, Lady of Pemberton lay awake. Elizabeth, or rather, Lizzie, was facing the shining moon that made such lovely patterns on her floor. Why, do you ask, was she lying awake at such an hour? She really didn't know. Somehow, the sounds of the night were comforting, just like the slight crackling of the dying fire in the grate, and the slight snoring of her maid at the foot of her bed. At 18 years old, she really didn't want to be a lady anymore. Sure, she went through the motions, did what her parents asked, learned to be courteous, lady-like, and a perfectly normal noble girl. If that could be considered normal.
Quietly she slipped out from under her covers, and placed her feet silently on the cold stone floor, careful not to wake her maid. What was she thinking, her maid wouldn't wake up for anything short of a rather loud kidnapping attempt, or perhaps a jousting tournament in all its glory. Walking over to the cold glass, she looked outside into the world, frosted over and beautiful. A very small young woman, she is very gangly, quite like a board, and very doll-like in private. In public, she is graceful, being careful not to do anything to make herself trip. Although she was close to it several times. Thick, wavy red hair coursed down her back, while her blue eyes concentrated on the outside. Her hair was her best feature, although her pale skin was a close second.
Things were like magic outside her window, when the wind always whispered to her in the dead of night when the rest of the castle was asleep and safe. She often thought she heard voices, slipping from the time past, calling her towards their resting place. She knew it was all her over active imagination playing tricks on her, but sometimes she liked the stories about magic and myth, just to get her through the days ahead. He mother was giving her more slack in the invisible leash that was tied around her neck, which could only mean one thing… the woman was thinking about marrying her off. While it was about time, it still wasn’t fair. She liked her freedom. She didn’t want to marry someone who would try to keep her in check all over again.
"M'lady Lizzie... are you awake?" For the love of the King, why, of all nights to be sensitive to her lady's wanderings, did her maid wake up tonight? She wanted to go for a walk, or do something other than stay in her room. She wanted to be the ghost lady, walking the grounds on a cold snowy night, not the unwilling lady stuck in her room.
"Go back to sleep Fanny. You are only dreaming." Sometimes she wished that she wouldn't be so kind our courteous, that she could lash out in anger more than every once in a while, instead of throwing items around her room and at her walls. There were so many facets of her personality that she wanted to let loose, but she never could. Instead she was the Lady in the background, a quiet girl with nothing for or against her. What did she do with herself? She had an uncommon knack for song, and loved to read. She would often steal books from her father's library and take them outside to read. Her brother often teased her about it, before she would threaten to blackmail him. He was older after all, and had much more freedom than she did. And she hated and loved him for it, but there was nothing she could do. Her other brother she had no problem black mailing him into submission, even if she was being unkind to her new siblings. And in the end, she backed away from the window. Away from her freedom, away from any shred of light that she could live for. It didn't matter, her sisters all beat her in when it came to pretty. Even though two of them were only a year older and younger than she was, they would all be betrothed before anyone even noticed Lizzie. She was barely even noticeable in court, where the best dressed ladies showed off their jewels. Isabel was always in passionate discussions, Jane was usually being scandalous, and Pippa was always being… Pippa while Lizzie was always in the corner, out of the way and out of sight.
Kneeling by the fire, she lighted her taper candle again and took it to her bedside. Quickly, Lizzie also stoked the fire to keep it burning until she was asleep. Carefully she pulled a thick volume out from under her bed, letting it call open to the page that she had last read, which was marked by a piece of fabric. Slipping under her covers and leaning into the light, she began to read, hoping that she would be tired enough to sleep soon. |
Other: nada. Sister of Lady Lizzie Bennett