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Samuela Zorich was born to be the most beautiful, the most loved, the most shining and not simply for the golden curls that adorned the top of her head, nor the bright blue eyes which always seemed to shine with some inner light and warmth. As if she felt so much love, so much joy that it was simply searching for ways to escape. In her eyes, in her smile. Her laughter drew the laughter of others and she was born for joy, born for light. Unaware in the beginning that while she was cast to light, her sister, Lisabette Zorich, was cast to shadow. A black raven amongst a sea of doves, marked so not simply by her hair...
Despite it though, Samuela always tried to be friendly, to be welcoming to one and all, with a generous heart and for it? She was loved. The boys loved her and she them. The villagers lover her and it was the same. And by her mother's direction, the sweetness of her heart, the childish nature that saw her so dotingly spoiled by the attention that she was given, she learned the art of temptation. To use those wiles in a way that might benefit everyone, herself included. This was the legacy that was left to her by her mother, the Duchess Debbie Zorich the Wise.
All her life she heard that one day she would be the Duchess, favored by her mother and by all, though such promises were never made offical in written script. And she saw, in the wake of these promises her older sister withdraw to the shadows. Become sadder. Become angry. And for all that she reached out to Lisabette, tried to spend time with her, tried to mend the hurts and the wounds and see her touched with good cheer? There was naught but misery to be found. Naught but bruises for her efforts and tears for her kindness. A gentle heart made lame, by darkness. A spirit broken down, where every attempt at peace found some game gone wrong and only herself to blame, punished for the transgressions, for acts birthed by the lips of her sister.
In time, Samuela began to withdraw from Lisabette, spending less and less time with her older sister, the 'offical' heir. And the time that had once been given to Lisabette was given to other sisters, other brothers, to a father whom she loved dearly and a mother upon whom she still doted. Yet Samuela couldn't shake the feeling that somehow she was responsible for her older sister's behavior, for her distance and she tried everything she knew and more, to make the older girl feel welcome among them. To return to the family table to dine, to share in the warmth and the laughter and yet? Lisabette never joined them.
It wasn't a perfect world, not with the shadow Lisabette cast over it but it was peaceful and to Samuela's eyes, it was beautiful. But all of that came crashing down one horrible day when news of an accident with a snake reached her ears and that beautiful life came crashing to an end with the death of her mother.
At twenty-one, the ever fragile golden bloom of the family, who's figure inspired the dreams of many, who's smile lit up their night bright as any sun...her life changed forever. The new young Duchess Lisabette, determined to keep the peace with the Kingdom of the Golden Lion sent her sister where no other in the kingdom would dare. To the son of the Duke, Arif Sefu - who was known as the cruelest creature of Felaguria, ...to be his wife.
It earned Lisabette the love of the Queen, ensured that the strongest Duchy was linked with the highest power in the kingdom as an ally and Samuela? She was reduced to tears. Traded for peace, in what she felt was a bid for revenge over a mother who never learned to share her love. Try though she might, Samuela never managed to change her sister's mind and finds herself betrothed yet to a man far far her senior. At thirty-five, the pressure of his own heritage is on him, his father on his deathbed and the threat of a looming war if he fails to marry lingering above his head.
But all of these actions? They brought a looming fear too. One deep in Samuela's heart, of the kind that keeps her often away at night - that her sister really was out to get her.
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Childish - A sweet nature, brought up from a pampered youth, from kind eyes and helping hands, there's just something about Samuela that begs to be rescued, to be saved, even when there's no hope. It could be the girl's delicate frame, her tender heart and the way it always appears on her sleeve or...could it be something more?
Coquette - A skill well learned from her mother's feet, Samuela learned the ways of the coquette, an artists skill of seduction and grace, though it's weilded with her innocence and when coupled with her delicate nature makes for a potent mix.
Genteel - There is nothing more important to Samuela than manners and propriety, even when it means hiding the bruises and swallowing back her tears. After all, a lady must be seen and not heard.
Humble - The truth of beauty is not on the outside, but the in and Samuela seems to know this well. Often refusing to see what others do, thinking instead that the beauty is in the world. In them. Not in her.
Phobia - Samuela's phobia is linked to her history with her sister and in the wake of her recent actions, has seen a slight terror become a great one. It's the notion of a heart so filled with hate, that terrifies her so.
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