Eli's Cast of Characters

[Elizabeth]

Stuff will go here eventually. I just wanted to make a place to put it all ^^; In the meantime, it seems only polite to introduce myself. I'm Elizabeth, though Eli serves just as well. I'm eighteen years old and a freshman Biology major. I love science. The only thing I love more than science is a good story! (I'm a sucker for a good fantasy story. An absolute sucker!) I don't watch very many shows that have to do with this time period just because I despise politics. Which is a shame, because this era happens to be one of my absolute favorites! My all time favorite is just a bit farther back, before the invention of guns and automobiles. The time of knights and dragons and honor.

Anyway, I know I'm rambling a bit but it felt strange just leaving this post up here with nothing in it... but rest assured that stuff is being worked on! Feel free to pop me a message if you wanted to chat about interacting characters or just felt like chatting in general. (: I love a nice conversation!

- Elizabeth

[Elizabeth]

lawrence william fox

william . twenty-three . groom

I know what you're thinking. This kid, the

groom

? An esteemed and trusted member of the Kingsgate household at the young age of 23? He's practically still in diapers! Yes, while it's true that grooms are traditionally old and gruff (the one he replaced had just celebrated his 43rd birthday!) William is an obvious exception to that unspoken rule. Just how did this man claw his way up the stable ranks to achieve his position so early in life, you ask? For now, it will suffice to say that William is just very good at his job. Nothing less than absolute perfection would satisfy a man like Lord Carmarthen.

relatives.

Unfortunately, the list of William's still-breathing relations are quite short. As far as he's concerned... there are none. His mother, one of the lower maids of the household, fled the Estate soon after Will was weened off her milk. Apparently, the shame of the scandal surrounding his birth had been too much for her to bear. It was well known that Lord Carmarthen did not tolerate pregnant staff members (not to mention her new status as social pariah and excellent subject of gossip fodder). William has not seen her since.

Of course, William will likely never know his father. It's highly unlikely that the man even knows that he fathered a son. In fact, Will didn't even know if his parents had been in love (however briefly) or lust, or if his unknown father had simply taken advantage of a woman with few ways to fight back. Such were the harsh realities of being a low-born servant.

sexuality.

While it is well known that William will flirt with anything wearing a dress (with the obvious exception of his superiors; he does not, after all, have a death wish), a lesser known fact is that he plays both sides of the fence. For obvious reasons he tends to be a lot more discreet with those latter relationships.

relationship.

At present, William is looking for nothing more than a good time. He's always up for a casual tumble in the hay (sometimes literally) and cares very little for coming up with good reasons to go about it. And while it's true that he does understand the abstract concept of a woman's "honor", he would be hard pressed to actually give a damn about it. Which is strange, given his own scandalous birth and his near-idolization of other forms of honor. To him, the difference lies in his belief that sex can be nothing but a good thing. Of course, if he actually gets a girl pregnant, that's another thing entirely.

appearance.

William stands at 6'1" and has the same wiry muscles and trim frame you would expect from someone who's worked for his bread nearly his entire life. His hands are calloused and sport several scars from small accidents with clippers and hoof picks. And, for most of his life, he's always been covered in at least one layer of grime. With his promotion to groom, however, William has had to start taking more care with his appearance. His duties now extended into the household itself, which meant that he now had to be presentable on a near-daily basis.

Of course, once he realized that women were more impressed with his freshly-washed visage, William stopped his griping. However, there was just nothing he could do to tame his massive head of sandy curls. No matter how many times he washed his mop of hair or tried to tame it with beeswax (a style he had seen one of the maids attempt), it remained either wildly messed or, in the case of product, matted nearly to his head. Fortunately, his hair seemed to grow naturally back and away from his face. Any hair that did not obey this rule was ruthlessly cropped short enough to stay out of his eyes as he worked.

William retains a very limited wardrobe. His close work with muck and horses makes it hard to maintain anything overly nice. Instead, he favors a simple, airy shirt with simple brown or black trousers. It's a lot easier for him to run up to his room and throw on the appropriate layers of coats, bells and whistles when he's been summoned. In the mean time, he maintains that all those layers would only slow him down.

Concerning his mannerisms, William takes after most males of his age and relative social position: at times he can be both disgustingly filthy and shockingly arrogant. This attitude lends a slight swagger to his walk, which otherwise would be quite a ground-eating stride. William has very long legs. When nervous, William preens. He has the bad habit of picking at the dirt under his nails, which is hopelessly encrusted in the nail beds. He's also prone to running his fingers through his hair and fidgeting with the sleeves of his coat.

personality.

William is a very interesting character. For one, he holds quite a bit of seemingly-hypocritical beliefs that would never hold up under intense scrutiny (fortunately for him, the inner beliefs of a servant are almost never questioned). For example, William believes strongly in the concept of honor but puts very little stock in the honor behind remaining a virgin. Is it because that sort of honor is associated only with women? It's possible. Does William consciously link the two? Doubtful.

But William isn't all bad. In fact, most would describe the young man as charming and responsible beyond his years. He has the useful ability of compartmentalizing: concerning his duties William is both hard-working and clever when confronted with obstacles; off-duty William enjoys his liquor and women as much as any of the other lads. Both Williams are quick with a joke and an easy smile in any situation. His "live fast, love hard, die young" philosophy has always served him well.

history.

- early history -

- transfer to estate -

- work at estate -

- promotion to groom -

Recently, William's begun to trade his "live by the day" philosophy for deeper thoughts on his future. He's in the prime of his life and what is he doing with it? Currying horses and favor within the household? William, like all low-born servants, grew up being told that good, honest service was all they could hope to achieve. But was there really nothing more out there for him?

In response to his inner struggles, William has appeared less engaged and vivacious than usual. Not one to easily trust others with his burdens, he has confided in no one. No one knows that he has several nicked books from the estate library hidden under his mattress. Just like no one knows that he stays up at night bowed over said books in an attempt to decipher the letters and thus the message within. He figures that his first step into a better, more independent state is crossing over one of the big hurdles that divided servant from nobility: the ability to read and write.

roleplayed by elizabeth.