Name: Emeline Lovell
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Class: Courtier
Physical Description (5 sentence minimum): Emeline's most distinctive feature is her hair: long -- reaching down to her waist, though she usually wears it up in a loose bun, only occasionally letting it down -- slightly wavy and a deep red color, it causes heads to turn in her direction. Occasionally, she will stop as she sees a glint of her enchanting locks, gazing at her hair in a certain wonder -- that's my hair? -- but otherwise she doesn't pay it too much attention. The second physical aspect that catches peoples' eyes is her own. Her own eyes, that is: they are a color not dark or deep in itself, but looking into them you have a sensation of dizziness, perhaps from glimpsing a piece of her mind. Usually they will be cast downwards modestly, shyly, but occasionally, when she is turning her attention towards a man, she will lift them just the slightest bit, teasingly, her eyelashes obscuring all but a sliver of green.
One thing that could be found a fault in Emeline's physical appearance is her height: she stands taller than a few men her age -- thankfully not too many -- making her an undesirable dance partner for anyone who is not taller than she. She's not monstrously tall, but, in her mother's eyes at least, lamentably so. To match her height she is slim, with full breasts, provocative hips and the softest of hands.
Oh yes, she has a good chance at court.
Native Duchy: Ashton
History (8 sentence minimum): The marriage of Jonathan Lovell and Honor Lisle is nothing worth recounting; it wasn't for love, it was for advancement, and nothing more. Jonathan was a knight and Honor was a talented, beautiful, charming and by no means poor Lady. True, the match was more to the female counterpart's advantage, as she went up a rank, but Jonathan earned himself a beautiful, to-be-proud-of wife.
George was born a year after the marriage, a healthy, sprightly young lad with dark hair and vibrant green eyes and an inborn love of life and humor. Jonathan doted on his son and didn't seem to notice that Honor payed him no attention. The reason of her neglect: a certain major Lord named Tristan Longfellow with the most beautiful blue eyes. I wouldn't say Honor was in love with him, per se, but she was certainly charmed, and so was Tristan. When she had a miscarriage about half a year after George's birth, everyone assumed the would-be-baby was Jonathan's, even he himself. After the miscarriage, Honor grew cold toward Tristan and he just as frigid towards her - both thought the other was infertile and secretly assumed that the miscarriage was a sign that they shouldn't be together. They drifted apart and soon were nothing more to each other than fellow courtiers.
After Tristan there were countless others. Perhaps he had captured her heart, the rascal, as Honor was reckless and rather desperate with her love affairs after him. So reckless, in fact, that everyone at court knew about it except for Jonathan. It was only a matter of time.
When he found out about the first one -- a Lord by the first name of Richard -- he lost a grain of respect for his wife and kept her closer to him, but let it go; it happened all the time. When word reached him of a second love affair, he reprimanded her in private, making sure to be clear. At the third he lost his temper and nearly struck Honor, bellowing that she was ruining his reputation with her silly flings and that if she continued he would break all ties with her. Believe it or not, she had her eyes on a certain courtier even after that speech, but before it could become another full-fledged affair she gave birth to Emeline -- legitimate, I'll have you know -- and was occupied for a time with the birth complications.
When Emeline was only a year old -- Honor still had her affairs but she kept them remarkably discreet -- Jonathan was seized with a terrible fever and died a week after it began. It would be a lie to say Honor was devastated; she went on to have a very public affair with one Lord Edward Cooper. It was one of the biggest mistakes of her life: Jonathan's mother, still alive, had her demoted from the widow of a knight to a simple Lady, out of anger at her daughter-in-law's sullying of her dead son's reputation. Somewhat subdued, Honor's love affairs dwindled until she had no more.
She became quite wasted, her beauty fading as she spent her days in boredom, embroidering aimlessly and musing about 'the good old days'. Her inspiration came when 13 year old Emeline walked into the room one day looking stunning. It was a bad day for Emeline, whose life until then had been all about horse-back riding and fooling around with her brother, who she was remarkably close to.That was when Honor decided her daughter would make a splendid marriage and have some noteworthy but quiet love affairs as well.
So off to court it was for Emeline, at 14 years of age, to flirt all over until she gained a reputation as a charming young lady and had the chance to make a marriage that advanced her in life. Honor was living through her daughter, not caring whether she liked it or not.
Emeline did have a few tame 'affairs', involving bad poetry written to her, a few stolen kisses and secret looks. She didn't much care for the men she flirted with...until Jude, that is.
She was 15, he was 18, and he was one of the most handsome men at court, despite being a simple Lord. Emeline stared at him in wonder for a long time, watching his delightful antics, his shining personality and his looks. She didn't need to do much flirting to gain his attention; her hair did most of the work. Soon Jude was her 'lover'. The difference between him and everyone else was that she actually cared about him. She would fantasize about what it would be like to be married to him, the passion they shared not having to be secret, what their children would be like...he would whisper promises of a de facto engagement between them sometime, and she would smile, her eyes misting over. Of course, she retained her innocence, but oh it was hard.
The last day he seemed flighty, nervous, embarrassed, upset, and as though he was hiding something. She tried to pry it out of him, but all he said was that he had to go to Harleston. The news that he had married Catherine Goodwin, a girl with pixie-like looks and mousy hair who was daughter to a Major Lord, reached her through the mouths of others.
It was a hard lesson to learn, but it had to come somehow. After Jude, Emeline never gave even a portion of her heart away. She's saving it for someone whose promises will not be empty.
Parents: Jonathan Lovell [deceased] :: Honor Lovell [née Lisle]
Siblings: George Lovell, 18
Personality: The first thing to say about Emeline is that she's quiet. Her loner-habits result not from any particular shyness -- no, she's not bold, but neither is she remarkably shy -- but from a simple desire to escape from the heated, crowded, breathless life at court. What she really wants while she stands there flirting is to be in a room all alone, curled up in front of a fireplace with Scorn dozing next to her and a book in her lap, her thoughts straying. If she wasn't Emeline Lovell and didn't live in Adesia but in our time, she would probably be a philosopher and an author.
Alas, it's not to be. From an early age -- 14, to be exact -- Emeline was pushed into court by her mother, urged to flirt strategically; passionately, but not recklessly, and certainly never to give her heart away but to trap others. At first, she was insufferably shy, not daring to meet anyone's eyes and only mumbling an affirmative when asked to dance. Her cheeks would flare red when she remembered her mother's advice to thrust out her breasts and hips and speak in a smooth but seductive voice, and would instead become a stuttering, clumsy young girl. But as the years went slowly by and she became more used to the environment at court, she began to follow her mother's advice -- almost without realizing it -- and became a very good flirter. Nowadays, if she wanted to, she could succeed in entrapping many a man's heart. Her virginity, however, is something that she protects fiercely; a bit of kissing here and there is alright, though she does feel a pang, but she allows nothing more.
Items:
- 1 sewing kit, for embroidery work
- 2 sets of clothing: A very light purple, long dress with flaring sleeves and a silver-colored sash around the middle. Second dress: a deep, velvety green with a sweeping train, long sleeves, rather low-cut and no sash around the middle. Hood, slippers, fan, and gloves.
- One nightdress; silk, light embroidery, pale purple
- Silver chain
- A rather battered though still functioning flute
- A book of parchment, ink, and quill, with a little bit of sealing wax
- Hygienic effects: copper hair brush, copper pins (to hold the hair in place), a little bit of scent (citrus), etc.
- To sing very well, though she doesn't much enjoy it
-Plays her old flute & loves to horse-back ride
- One maid
- Orange female cat, 2 years old, Scorn
Roleplay Sample (Two paragraph minimum - Ten sentences):
"George? Are you coming?" Emeline's foot, adorned in a riding boot, tapped the bricks of the floor impatiently. Her arms were folded across her chest and she blew angrily at a tendril of hair drifting over her face. It was one of those rare weeks when she was allowed to return to her residence at Ashton, to escape court life for the simple, calm, infinitely preferable life of riding horses three hours a day, reading by the fire, fooling around with her brother and playing calmly with her orange cat, Scorn. And now she was going to be late and she would lose some precious time, all because of her lazy brother!
"Yes, yes, yes," he huffed, tripping down the stairs as he slipped on his riding gloves. His hair was black to her auburn, a bit too long and due for a hair-cut, but charming nonetheless. The one thing they shared were their vibrant green eyes, his full of carelessness and mischief and hers full of wistful thoughts and hard reality. Oh, to be a boy...Emeline had to shoot her brother a look of envy: he was so free compared to her! Her tyrannous mother payed him no attention even as she forced her unwilling daughter into court, playing her as a pawn. Emeline could see the inspiration in her mother's eyes; she thought that maybe, if her daughter made a wonderful marriage, her mother-in-law would speak a good word about her to the King and she could once again be a Knight's widow, and not just a simple Lady among many. Emeline had a different opinion of what "a wonderful marriage" meant, but even if she was married off to someone she couldn't stand, she could always have love affairs on the side, as long as they were kept quiet. Still though...
As her brother's foot hit the last step, she was off. Abruptly she spun on her heel and began to walk quickly towards the stables, her eyes shining and her breath coming out in huffs. "Hurry, George!" she called playfully over her shoulder, glimpsing her brother as he tried to run while adjusting his shirt. A tinkling, carefree laugh escaped her and she had the sudden urge to throw herself on the grass and stare up at the sky...
Why did she ever have to return to court?
Other: Hm...nope.