#emmelina: bio

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EMMELINA "LINA" DELACOURT & EVELYN MONTANE:

once upon a time, in lands far away, two baby girls were born to two very different families linked by blood. in the south, a princess was greeted with a week of feasting and dancing (while a nurse tended the celebrated child). in the north, a family gathered to pass a bundled baby around from arm to arm, whispering words of love.

the princess, emmelina, was born to a a kingdom in decline although none of the nobles seemed to know it. the sole child and only heir, she grew up in a drafty palace secretly crumbling into the sea, while the only attention paid to its upkeep went to new paint and new tapestries, embroidered hangings. revels seemed a near constant in the palace, which the royals rarely left. feasting and dancing, great masques, concerts for the newest most celebrated players.

meanwhile, outside the palace halls, whispers of dissent were building as the common people struggled, crime ever on the rise in city streets the royals didn't care to keep safe.

emmelina grew up a lonely child, and then a worried young woman whose attempts to make her parents see reason fell on ears that would not hear her.

meanwhile, the struggles in the kingdom were not unknown to the north. nominally ruled by the palace in the south, the north was governed by the brother of the king - - - and a much more peaceful place. the lord and lady had been watching with mounting concern as the lands in the south crumbled. what had begun a slow shift of pebbles was swiftly becoming a landslide, but there was hope to be found. emmelina was known to have a good head on her shoulders, and her uncle hoped she would be a better queen than her parents before her.

to be sure, he sent his daughter to find out.

evelyn montane, the princess's cousin, arrived in court with her sharp tongue and a scowl, expecting to dislike every bit of it - - including her cousin. emmelina was the only thing that surprised her. the two became fast friends, a balance of emmelina's courtly grace and poise and evelyn's sharp tongue, lina's diplomacy and evelyn's boldness.

evelyn wrote back to her family often, and through her letters hope for a better future grew. but that hope could only be sustained if the kingdom survived to see lina on the throne.

no one wants a bloody coup, much less one between families. so while the girls survived each day in the crumbling castle by the sea, trying to stop up every leaking gap they could on their own, the king's uncle set to work to try to find a way to peacefully pass the crown from his brother to his niece as soon as possible.

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of the two cousins, emmelina is known for her kindness and beauty, Evelyn is known for her sharp tongue and her boldness