crowndaughter

[crowndaughter]

Maybe like this post for a small starter ?

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Modern Cecily would definitely use a white cane and/or have a guide dog.

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PRINCESS CECILY OF MYNATHE

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Small PSA for those who haven't read Cecily's backstory yet/in a while: Cecily is partially blind. This is an important part of her character, and will be brought up in interactions.

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Cecily's first child, Trystram, was born when Cecily was sixteen. She was not married to his father, Gwilym, but they considered themselves betrothed at the time of his conception, so after Cecily and Gwilym returned to the capital (when Trystram was four), her father, the king, had him declared legally legitimate. Trystram is therefore considered trueborn, and is next in line for the throne, after Cecily herself.

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FULL NAME: Her Royal Highness, Cecily Anne Elizabeth Maeryn, Crown Princess of Mynathe USUAL NAME: Princess Cecily of Mynathe NICKNAMES: Ceci AGE: 20 in her main canon ORIENTATION: Bisexual/biromantic HAIR: Brown EYES: Brown PARENTS: King John and Queen Margaret of Mynathe SIBLINGS: None PARTNERS: (verse-dependent) Prince Ilyas of Sartou (former fiance), Sir Gwilym Dragonsbane (husband) CHILDREN: (verse-dependent) Prince Trystram, Prince Gryffudd, Princess Gwendydd

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Illustration from The Six Swans for Through Fairy Halls of My Bookhouse by Donn P. Crane (1925)

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Royal Sentence Starters. A series of questions for all your royal longings ♥

From the parents / teachers / council:

Let them dance together first.

Your Highness! What about the history lesson?

And when he / she fell in love? Without my permission?

This nonsense must stop. Your education has absolute priority.

Your language skills are lacking / excellent.

I / we have decided on a groom / bride for you.

The wedding arrangements with the neighboring country were concluded.

Love doesn’t matter, duty does.

You were born to serve your country.

You’ll do as you are told.

You’re gonna pick a groom / bride this summer!

You will choose one of the debutants as your bride.

You will be a worthy successor.

Your parents would be proud of you.

I should have been more strict with you!

You are responsible for your kingdom, for your country!

Don’t you care about your kingdom?

With diplomacy you have to be careful, but still use it skillfully.

I / we expect impeccable behavior.

Could you represent me as heir to the throne in this matter?

You are the heir!

For the arranged marriage:

We might not love each other but perhaps we can be friends?

I didn’t choose this!

I do not want to marry him / her!

Her dowry means nothing to me!

His / her power means nothing to me!

Just because this marriage is beneficial, it doesn’t have to be good.

So you’re suggesting I marry someone I don’t love?

Perhaps we can grow to love each other.

I do not want to be queen!

I do not want to move to a foreign country!

Is it bad of me if I do not feel anything for my betrothed?

He / she is too old.

He / she is too young.

I don’t even want the throne.

I don’t even want children.

I cannot and will never love him / her / you.

My heart already belongs to someone else.

For (secret) lovers:

You didn’t ask for permission and married me.

Do you want to be my prince / princess?

I’ll do anything in my power to convince them of our marriage plans.

You’d make a wonderful groom / bride.

I cannot marry you. My position / parents wouldn’t allow it.

We cannot meet like this anymore.

I’m sorry, I have to leave you.

Leaving you breaks my heart.

You are my everything, worth more than a crown.

I choose you, no matter what the king says.

My bride / groom means nothing. You are the one I want.

Meet me at midnight at the fountain.

A crown means nothing if the heart is unhappy.

I’d choose your love over all gold and diamonds.

The marriage is set. I cannot change it.

My heart will always belong to you.

I’ll protect you, no matter what.

I’m betrothed now, I wish it was you.

I’ll dance with you at this ball, no matter what the others say.

Will you grant me the next dance?

I’ll be your gallant companion.

You’ll be the most beautiful groom / bride.

You make me happy.

Will I be a Majesty?

From the royal:

In accordance with ancient custom, I shall choose a groom / bride.

Not everything is beautiful just because it shines.

I’d rather be a commoner.

I want to be free.

The crown is too heavy to bear.

It is sometimes not a privilege to be a firstborn.

The hopes of my whole country rest upon me.

There are so many rules and protocols I have to follow.

You can have this dress / this jacket if you want to. I have many more.

I miss interacting with you like this.

You are the only one that i honest with me.

My advisors tell me it’s the right decision. But is it really?

My parents wish me to marry but I want to follow my heart.

Living in a castle is sometimes like living in a prison.

I wish we could switch positions for a day.

Living in a castle is boring. Your life is much more exciting.

I invite you to this ball / tournament.

I want you to be there. Do not worry about others.

Would you deny an invitation if the prince / princess yourself invites you?

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but …. I’m kinda the prince / princess and this is my kingdom.

I didn’t tell you I’m the prince / princess because I appreciate our friendship.

From the (non-royal) friend:

This must be the prince / princess!

Look, look, look…uhm your highness.

This crown / tiara must be heavy.

I like how your crown / tiara sparkles.

I’d wish I could also wear such a crown / tiara.

Can you always wear such beautiful clothes?

All these clothes would be my death.

I am envious of you.

I’m glad I’m not in your position.

Surely you can sneak out?

When do you have to leave?

When will you be back?

Can I hold your train?

Can I be one of your bridesmaids / groomsman?

How am I supposed to address you now?

I don’t know how to do a proper courtesy.

I’m not one who is fit for the court.

Why didn’t you tell me you’re royal / the prince / the princess?

You can’t be real about this! It sounds like a fairytale come true.

Even a prince / princess is allowed to have fun!

You have never danced anything else besides walzer?

I didn’t know you speak so many languages.

Have you ever tried xy?

I’m nothing and you … you are the prince / princess.

Have you ever been to the village?

And you really live in this castle?

You would look at things differently if you were in my position.

Then, your Majesty, any dream is possible.

[crowndaughter]

Cecily loves learning and enjoying stories, but she usually has one of her ladies read to her because she struggles to read with her weak eyesight.

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Georgie Henley in The Spanish Princess: 2.02 Flodden

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🐝  *  ―  𝑩𝑨𝑹𝑩𝑰𝑬 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑼𝑻𝑪𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.

❛  you almost had it, [name]. here, let me show you.  ❜ ❛  you’ve just gotta find the courage to try.  ❜ ❛  you can’t tell me what to do!  ❜ ❛  don’t worry, i’ll wait until your party is over before i perform any mischief.  ❜ ❛  some people never change. but we can always hope.  ❜ ❛  you must have felt like a princess.  ❜ ❛  i wish i could have been there.  ❜ ❛  maybe next time you can come with me.  ❜ ❛  not so fearless now, hmm?  ❜ ❛  you’re not going to get away from me this time.  ❜ ❛  it’s dangerous, yes. but not impossible.  ❜ ❛  me? with you? in there? i don’t think so.  ❜ ❛  this is crazy. but, yes.  ❜ ❛  here, let me give you a hand.  ❜ ❛  well, i’m sorry, but you should have been more careful.  ❜ ❛  i wish i could remember but i’m so hungry.  ❜ ❛  that would be a shame, then i couldn’t tell you the juicy bit of gossip i overheard.  ❜ ❛  i didn’t know things had gotten this bad.  ❜ ❛  well, what have we here?  ❜ ❛  well, if you have nothing to hide you won’t mind answering a few questions.  ❜ ❛  i’ve never heard such a ridiculous story!  ❜ ❛  i do believe i’m starting to rub off on you.  ❜ ❛  you want me to babysit a rock?  ❜ ❛  why haven’t you told anyone?  ❜ ❛  perhaps you should remember who’s in charge of this expedition.  ❜ ❛  are you sure you’re alright to travel?  ❜ ❛  that is what you want, isn’t it?  ❜ ❛  i should have never come, what was i thinking?  ❜ ❛  what am i saying? i can’t leave! i’m their only hope!  ❜ ❛  are you sure about this?  ❜ ❛  ah, you’re just in time for your party.  ❜ ❛  there’s more to being king than having a crown.  ❜ ❛  i don’t need their loyalty. i don’t even need them!  ❜ ❛  i am afraid i underestimated you.  ❜ ❛  you and i know you’re much more than that.  ❜ ❛  none of this would have been possible without you, [name].  ❜ ❛  i absolutely despise happy endings!  ❜ ❛  it’s about time you got up.  ❜ ❛  it’s not a story ― it really happened.  ❜ ❛  i’m verry happy to … meet you.  ❜

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Anne of the Thousand Days

Anne Boleyn’s blue gown

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Cecily, due to her partial blindness, has no depth perception and thus a very poor sense of balance.  She has a special saddle, made higher in the front and back to support her and help her stay put on her horse.

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Princess Cecily of Mynathe is the granddaughter of a miller.  King John’s marriage to a commoner was disapproved of by many in the kingdom.  The royal couple had struggled for years to have an heir, only to have their only child born a girl, born early, and frail, and with eyes that would never work quite as they should.  Many people whispered that her gender and ill health were a clear sign that the king’s marriage was ill-favored.

Still, Cecily was adored by her parents, and raised as the beloved heiress to the crown.  When she was thirteen, she was betrothed to a younger prince of the neighboring kingdom, but he was cruel and mistreated her, and so the engagement was broken.  To help her heal from the trauma, she was sent to spend a while with her maternal grandfather, a hardworking and kindly man who still ran a mill despite being father-in-law to the king.  During this time, she met her grandfather’s apprentice, Gwilym Argenveil, and developed a close bond with him.  The two fell in love and wished to marry, but Cecily’s father, King John, knew that people would disapprove of two successive monarchs marrying commoners.  So he tasked Gwilym with a quest:  To win Cecily’s hand, he would have to slay a dragon, and once he had done that, he would be elevated to the nobility and thus worthy of marrying a princess.

Gwilym left on his quest when he and Cecily were both sixteen, and they had a brief physical affair before he left, considering themselves betrothed.  Cecily became pregnant, and she was once again sent to live with her grandfather to keep her out of the public eye.  Towards the end of her pregnancy, she received word that Gwilym had been killed, and so she named their son Trystram, meaning sorrowful.  In her grief, she took her child and began to wander, hoping to find some sort of meaning in a world without her love.  As she traveled, she found herself living in a cottage surrounded by pear trees.  Shortly after she and Trystram moved in, she found an injured swan outside their cottage.  Cecily nursed it back to health, and the swan informed her that he was her beloved Gwilym.  He had not, in fact, been killed, but had instead been placed under a curse that transformed him into a swan.  He told her that the only way to break the curse was for Cecily to make him a shirt out of nettles.

For a few years, the strange little family lived in the cottage by the pear trees, all the while, Cecily crushed and spun nettles into fibers she could weave into a shirt.  When the nettle shirt was almost finished, their little home was discovered by Prince Ilyas, the cruel prince Cecily had once been betrothed to.  Recognizing Cecily, he attempted to abduct her despite her protests.  Gwilym attacked Prince Ilyas in her defense, pecked the wicked man’s eyes out, and tore his throat with his beak  As Ilyas laid dying, Cecily calmly sewed the last seam of the precious nettle shirt and gently placed it on Gwilym’s back.

With Gwilym’s curse now broken, the trio returned to Mynathe, explaining to Cecily’s parents and the rest of the kingdom the curse and how it had been broken.  Trystram, now four, told the assembled crowds, that his father had slain a dragon to defend his mother.  And so Gwilym was knighted and given the title Sir Gwilym Dragonsbane.  He and Cecily were married, and they all lived happily ever after.