Valeri
"This body of mine is living a borrowed life. Yet, my soul yearns for love, how ironic. It shall surely be my downfall."
Artist
Valeri never thought that her life would be this young. Several brushes with death made her convinced that she was to live a short life, continuously running from whatever plagued her. But here she stands, in the guise of a man, the court jester of the kingdom next to where she grew up... and everything is peaceful.
Too peaceful, in fact.
Something is brewing in the festive seasons, bubbling under the surface of all the party and merry. She feels it in the tips of her fingers, in the back of her mind, when she picks up her instrument and steps upon the stage... things are about to get disrupted.
- She used to live in the neighboring kingdom of Cicily.
- A few years prior she was headhunted for court jester.
- Lately, she's been practicing a lot of new instruments.
Valeri has entered a state of hyper-vigilance after her years in the run, but she is almost starting to feel complacent in the situation at the castle - just peaceful days of daily tasks, playing music, singing and telling stories... nothing more. At least, that's how it was always supposed to be.
From the start, Valeri has been quite the hopeless romantic; she can't help but yearn for love, even as her logical mind is telling her no. She tries to deny it but her personality will not let her actually have peace. What makes it worse is that this yearning is directed towards the princess herself, a girl around her age who shows not insignificant interest back to her.
- performance
- forest walks
- the sea breeze
- knives
- dressing feminine
- cucumbers
( crush, princess )
The princess of Merania, where she currently makes her home in the court as the jester. The girl is around her age, and they clicked immediately after she started living at the castle.
Perhaps it's obvious to everyone around them - that there's a mutual interest, but if people know, they say nothing. She always asks for Valeri to play for her whenever they have time, over afternoon tea and the such. She's a responsible person and takes her duties seriously, but Valeri knows she's dealing with a lot. The two of them oft talk past each other, finding no comfortable spot in their awkward relation.
( comrade, friend, more? )
A noblelady who is also a fellow Cicilian, which is what initially brings the two of them a little closer. She's Eleanora's lady in waiting, leading to the two of them interacting a lot.
Eva is very energetic and positive for the most part, and she rarely gets caught up in others' whims. She is very friendly with Valeri as well, and it's easy to want to trust in her despite everything.
- Valeri is meticulous in her dress, always wanting to represent the best of her craft - elegant, fanciful clothes that suit her and most importantly, hide the important parts to conceal her identity as a woman. She wears a structured coat that helps with flattening out her chest, as well as a light white shirt underneath. Around her neck, she ties a neck scarf with a crescent moon pin. She always wears pants and thigh-high boots, even in the summer - her body has gotten used to it after a while, considering she doesn't have much of a choice if she wants to stay concealed.
- On her back, though not depicted, are slashing marks for what appears to be a knife. They occassionally writhe and glow black and red, making strange, unfamiliar patterns. For ten years, they have not fully healed. They cause her great distress and pain on occasion, usually in connection with certain events - like a full moon or a storm. She can't quite understand the nature of these symptoms, but she still remembers the knife that carved her clear as day, almost 10 years later.
- Despite her hiding her identity, she could never bring herself to cut her hair off, and has kept it long - and it's probably going to get longer. It's usually pulled into an asymmetrical diagonal braid over her left shoulder, and held with a butterfly-shaped pin. Her trusty flute is usually kept in the sash she ties around her jacket, often on her back to prevent it getting in the way of her arms. It's a simple old thing, but no one can deny that the music produced from it is beautiful.
- Her cloak is decorated with elegant golden embroidery, and pinned with a butterfly-shaped brooch. It was a gift from a girl she got after a performance. She still wishes to meet this girl again, so she wears the brooch every time she goes out with her cloak in hopes of getting approached, but it hasn't happened for several years.