Princess Melaine
My father has got a whole lot of rules, a whole lot of warnings and a whole lot of hypocritical ramblings. But I'll tell you now, friend, it won't make a damn bit of difference if you do what he wants or you don't. He'll make his mind up about you based on something else entirely. And so will half the Council. So just be whoever you want to be, do whatever you want to do, and damn to Chaos anyone who doesn't like it. That's what I've been doing for the last ten years, and I'm much happier than when I was trying to be Daddy's perfect little princess.
Name: Melaine.
Titles: Princess of Arcadia, Countess of Villa Monica and Swan Lake.
Rules: Villa Monica.
Height: 5'3". Weight: 113 lbs.
Hair color: Dark blonde. Eye color: Pale blue.
Distinguishing marks: None.
Appearance: Pale and pretty, with long blonde hair and expressive hands and arms, Melaine carries herself as if she couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, but there's obviously a chip on her shoulder, and most can tell that she really does care, a lot. She has an overly put-on casual demeanor and dresses however she feels at the time - anything from jeans and a t-shirt to a cocktail dress and her clothing never has anything to do with the occasion.
Colors: Purple and gold (and white).
Symbol: A white swan on a field of gyrony purple and gold.
Personality: Melaine has lived her entire life for other people, and despite what she says now, this has not changed. For years she tried to be the perfect Imperial Princess, to fill in where her sister left off and make her father proud of her, and when she became sick of trying, she went the opposite route, decided to put on an affected lower class drawl, to hang out in the seedier parts of town and to completely blow off her duties as Arayen's daughter. Almost everyone knows that this is an attempt to gain attention and a recognition as her own person, rather than as Sylvia's sister, but few would say so to Melaine.
Parentage: Prince Arayen and Prima Darkmoore.
Age: 198.
Known siblings: Sylvia (deceased).
Known children: None.
Known agents: Most people think Melaine has no agents besides her servants at Villa Monica. Those with very strong connections in the City, or a very good information gathering system of their own suspect that she may have the finest intelligence agency in Arcadia, second not even to Sansovino's.
Recruited By: Melchior.
Thumbnail History: Melaine was the second daughter of Prince Arayen and Prima Darkmoore. The parents almost immediately each took a child to be their favorite, and Arayen chose the elder, Sylvia, while Prima doted on her baby daughter. Melaine's childhood was idyllic. Her mother spoiled her but her father's mitigating and sterner influence kept her from being turned rotten or weak. She always had everything she needed, and almost everything she wanted. She gravitated naturally to more martial concerns than her sister, perhaps because of the strong influence of her warlike mother, but unlike Prima, Melaine was always more interested in tactics, history and intelligence work than in getting out there and actually physically taking part in battle.
Melaine had always desired the love and affection of both her parents, and felt that for some reason she would never understand, her father could not love her the same way he did his other daughter. It created in Melaine a sense of inadequacy that no amount of love and affection from her mother was able to overcome. In response, Melaine as a teenager and a young adult turned to whatever Arayen found important, and spent years as a diplomatic liaison, an ambassador, a socialite, a philanthropist, and a military consultant for the Prince. Whatever it was, and no matter how completely perfectly she did it, her relationship with her father never changed.
When Prima was murdered, Melaine was already an adult, and had been serving as Arayen's chief of staff for years, since Sylvia had never been interested or fit for that position. Melaine, whose intelligence agency was at that time much better than her father's, was never entirely sure that the murder had been the work of Eris Echidna, but despite her strong recommendation to wait for more information, Arayen took his infamous vengeance on Eris' agents in the Castle and where he could reach them throughout the City. Melaine was present to hear the order and publically and vociferously argued with the choice. Arayen did not listen, but he did hear, and soon enough the Princess was demoted from chief of staff to ambassador to Draconis as punishment for daring to question him in public.
Melaine was angry but she tried to be understanding. Prima had been the rock in all their lives, and she knew that losing her had made Arayen momentarily unbalanced. She obediently went to Draconis and tried to smooth things over with Eris - unsuccessfully, of course. She waited for Arayen to realize his mistake and forgive her.
In five years, he seemed to, bringing her back to the Castle and reinstating her at her former level. But if their relationship had been strained before, it was downright cold now. Melaine didn't dare say no to him ever now, and he seemed to resent that.
Twenty-five years later, when the newly married Sylvia killed herself, the ties of tragedy that held Arayen and his living daughter together seemed too strong to ever admit reconciliation or even words. Melaine stayed by her father's side, supporting him through the ordeal.
Rumor has it that the change in Melaine came when, ten years after Sylvia's death, at the gala celebration Arayen held in honor of her remembrance, her father called her by her sister's name.
Whatever really happened, Melaine changed. All of a sudden, she tore her long gown into ribbons, kicked off her shoes and began to dance on the table. She told the gathered guests all their little dirty secrets and exactly what she thought of them, ending with her father, and then she threw the punch bowl across the room and stalked from the Castle. She has not been back since, and her antics in the City since have been known to cause Arayen to throw down the paper and break coffee cups. She lives for herself now, in the wildest and most dangerous parts of the city.
Recently, her good friend Melchior came to her with a proposal he felt might help repair the rift between Melaine and Arayen. She took it because she thought it was more likely to make her father very angry.
Melaine as Parent: Despite the fact that she is nearly two hundred years old, Melaine is characterized by a certain lack of maturity and an obsession with being tough and self-reliant. If she were a mother, she would try to be a good one, but her standards and modes of operation would place her child in dangerous areas and dark situations all through childhood. Melaine would seek to protect the child, to teach him, and to show him that he would always be loved exactly as he was, never trying to make him into anything he didn't want to be. The child would find, however, that mother is moody and obsessive. Grandfather Arayen would also be constantly trying to take over raising the child, so they would move often to stay away from his agents and his invitations, which Melaine disdains.
Melaine as Employer: Melaine openly employs her servants and the caretakers of Villa Monica and the Swan Lake, whom she treats with respect, pays well and offers excellent benefits. To them, she is still the perfect Princess, though she is rarely at home. Anyone else employed by Melaine is part of her secret organization of intelligence gatherers and is trained never to reveal their true purpose or their mistress, sometimes claiming to belong to other important persons, such as Sansovino or Arayen. These people make unbelievable money from Melaine but most have never seen her, communicating with her through a complex string of informants and codes or by sending transmissions through meres and scrying pools.
Melaine as Friend: To most, she seems to be a self-destructive but tough and straight-forward woman. Her friends tend to be of the rougher sort - thieves, pirates, riverboat gamblers, thugs and mafiosos. She has spent ten years being that kind as well, and she enjoys hanging out in seedy bars and brothels with people who don't know or don't care that she ever was a Princess. Those who are closer to her, such as her old friends Melchior, Florian and Leonard, or her new trusted but less famous friends know that there is beneath the surface a woman who is both more dangerous and less, with abandonment and daddy issues, but who can be trusted to love warmly and unconditionally.
Melaine Romantically: Melaine is wild, experimental and open sexually, but no one is quite sure if that is because she really wants to be, or because she is seeking attention from her father. She prefers high risk or unusual sexual encounters - exhibitionism, orgies, bondage, prostitutes. She has had men and women, and no one is sure which she prefers. Her affairs tend to be short and sweaty and dangerous, but she has been known to stay with the same person for a few weeks or even a month once in a while, if they truly intrigue her and can keep her satisfied.
Before her personality change ten years ago, Melaine was a different person sexually as well. She was cold, an ice queen of sorts, who flirted with powerful men and women but never followed through, except for one infamous occasion when she was a teenager and went out to a bar, met Diarmuid, and let him take her to a hotel.
Name: Melaine.
Titles: Princess of Arcadia, Countess of Villa Monica and Swan Lake.
Rules: Villa Monica.
Height: 5'3". Weight: 113 lbs.
Hair color: Dark blonde. Eye color: Pale blue.
Distinguishing marks: None.
Appearance: Pale and pretty, with long blonde hair and expressive hands and arms, Melaine carries herself as if she couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, but there's obviously a chip on her shoulder, and most can tell that she really does care, a lot. She has an overly put-on casual demeanor and dresses however she feels at the time - anything from jeans and a t-shirt to a cocktail dress and her clothing never has anything to do with the occasion.
Colors: Purple and gold (and white).
Symbol: A white swan on a field of gyrony purple and gold.
Personality: Melaine has lived her entire life for other people, and despite what she says now, this has not changed. For years she tried to be the perfect Imperial Princess, to fill in where her sister left off and make her father proud of her, and when she became sick of trying, she went the opposite route, decided to put on an affected lower class drawl, to hang out in the seedier parts of town and to completely blow off her duties as Arayen's daughter. Almost everyone knows that this is an attempt to gain attention and a recognition as her own person, rather than as Sylvia's sister, but few would say so to Melaine.
Parentage: Prince Arayen and Prima Darkmoore.
Age: 198.
Known siblings: Sylvia (deceased).
Known children: None.
Known agents: Most people think Melaine has no agents besides her servants at Villa Monica. Those with very strong connections in the City, or a very good information gathering system of their own suspect that she may have the finest intelligence agency in Arcadia, second not even to Sansovino's.
Recruited By: Melchior.
Thumbnail History: Melaine was the second daughter of Prince Arayen and Prima Darkmoore. The parents almost immediately each took a child to be their favorite, and Arayen chose the elder, Sylvia, while Prima doted on her baby daughter. Melaine's childhood was idyllic. Her mother spoiled her but her father's mitigating and sterner influence kept her from being turned rotten or weak. She always had everything she needed, and almost everything she wanted. She gravitated naturally to more martial concerns than her sister, perhaps because of the strong influence of her warlike mother, but unlike Prima, Melaine was always more interested in tactics, history and intelligence work than in getting out there and actually physically taking part in battle.
Melaine had always desired the love and affection of both her parents, and felt that for some reason she would never understand, her father could not love her the same way he did his other daughter. It created in Melaine a sense of inadequacy that no amount of love and affection from her mother was able to overcome. In response, Melaine as a teenager and a young adult turned to whatever Arayen found important, and spent years as a diplomatic liaison, an ambassador, a socialite, a philanthropist, and a military consultant for the Prince. Whatever it was, and no matter how completely perfectly she did it, her relationship with her father never changed.
When Prima was murdered, Melaine was already an adult, and had been serving as Arayen's chief of staff for years, since Sylvia had never been interested or fit for that position. Melaine, whose intelligence agency was at that time much better than her father's, was never entirely sure that the murder had been the work of Eris Echidna, but despite her strong recommendation to wait for more information, Arayen took his infamous vengeance on Eris' agents in the Castle and where he could reach them throughout the City. Melaine was present to hear the order and publically and vociferously argued with the choice. Arayen did not listen, but he did hear, and soon enough the Princess was demoted from chief of staff to ambassador to Draconis as punishment for daring to question him in public.
Melaine was angry but she tried to be understanding. Prima had been the rock in all their lives, and she knew that losing her had made Arayen momentarily unbalanced. She obediently went to Draconis and tried to smooth things over with Eris - unsuccessfully, of course. She waited for Arayen to realize his mistake and forgive her.
In five years, he seemed to, bringing her back to the Castle and reinstating her at her former level. But if their relationship had been strained before, it was downright cold now. Melaine didn't dare say no to him ever now, and he seemed to resent that.
Twenty-five years later, when the newly married Sylvia killed herself, the ties of tragedy that held Arayen and his living daughter together seemed too strong to ever admit reconciliation or even words. Melaine stayed by her father's side, supporting him through the ordeal.
Rumor has it that the change in Melaine came when, ten years after Sylvia's death, at the gala celebration Arayen held in honor of her remembrance, her father called her by her sister's name.
Whatever really happened, Melaine changed. All of a sudden, she tore her long gown into ribbons, kicked off her shoes and began to dance on the table. She told the gathered guests all their little dirty secrets and exactly what she thought of them, ending with her father, and then she threw the punch bowl across the room and stalked from the Castle. She has not been back since, and her antics in the City since have been known to cause Arayen to throw down the paper and break coffee cups. She lives for herself now, in the wildest and most dangerous parts of the city.
Recently, her good friend Melchior came to her with a proposal he felt might help repair the rift between Melaine and Arayen. She took it because she thought it was more likely to make her father very angry.
Melaine as Parent: Despite the fact that she is nearly two hundred years old, Melaine is characterized by a certain lack of maturity and an obsession with being tough and self-reliant. If she were a mother, she would try to be a good one, but her standards and modes of operation would place her child in dangerous areas and dark situations all through childhood. Melaine would seek to protect the child, to teach him, and to show him that he would always be loved exactly as he was, never trying to make him into anything he didn't want to be. The child would find, however, that mother is moody and obsessive. Grandfather Arayen would also be constantly trying to take over raising the child, so they would move often to stay away from his agents and his invitations, which Melaine disdains.
Melaine as Employer: Melaine openly employs her servants and the caretakers of Villa Monica and the Swan Lake, whom she treats with respect, pays well and offers excellent benefits. To them, she is still the perfect Princess, though she is rarely at home. Anyone else employed by Melaine is part of her secret organization of intelligence gatherers and is trained never to reveal their true purpose or their mistress, sometimes claiming to belong to other important persons, such as Sansovino or Arayen. These people make unbelievable money from Melaine but most have never seen her, communicating with her through a complex string of informants and codes or by sending transmissions through meres and scrying pools.
Melaine as Friend: To most, she seems to be a self-destructive but tough and straight-forward woman. Her friends tend to be of the rougher sort - thieves, pirates, riverboat gamblers, thugs and mafiosos. She has spent ten years being that kind as well, and she enjoys hanging out in seedy bars and brothels with people who don't know or don't care that she ever was a Princess. Those who are closer to her, such as her old friends Melchior, Florian and Leonard, or her new trusted but less famous friends know that there is beneath the surface a woman who is both more dangerous and less, with abandonment and daddy issues, but who can be trusted to love warmly and unconditionally.
Melaine Romantically: Melaine is wild, experimental and open sexually, but no one is quite sure if that is because she really wants to be, or because she is seeking attention from her father. She prefers high risk or unusual sexual encounters - exhibitionism, orgies, bondage, prostitutes. She has had men and women, and no one is sure which she prefers. Her affairs tend to be short and sweaty and dangerous, but she has been known to stay with the same person for a few weeks or even a month once in a while, if they truly intrigue her and can keep her satisfied.
Before her personality change ten years ago, Melaine was a different person sexually as well. She was cold, an ice queen of sorts, who flirted with powerful men and women but never followed through, except for one infamous occasion when she was a teenager and went out to a bar, met Diarmuid, and let him take her to a hotel.