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Emma was the only child of a man rumored to be the unrecognized illegitimate son of a very wealthy and powerful English Duke. The Duke was getting old and still had no legitimate heirs, seemingly content spend to more and more time with his head financier (Emma's father), who just happened to be the right age, coloring, build, etc. to be the offspring of a certain courtesan the Duke used to keep as his exclusive mistress. Just prior to the date the financier was born, this mistress disappeared rather suddenly, it was said, to France. And what a coincidence - the financier spoke with a French accent.
Neither the Duke nor the financier ever did anything that might lend credence to the rumors, but as the friendship between them grew stronger the Duke himself grew older and weaker - and in the absence of a legitimate direct heir the eyes of Society naturally focused on the financier.
Emma had been working as a lady's maid for a very well-respected noble English family, but as her father's fortunes improved so did her situation, and eventually she was able to stop working entirely and return to live with her father on the Duke's estate - with a maid of her own! It was at about this time Society decided her father must really be the Duke's heir, which made Emma the only child of the next Duke. Her change in status manifested practically overnight, and she was soon inundated with invitations and suitors.
Wouldn't you know it, but a handsome young lord who was a close friend of the family for whom she had been working took an interest in her, as well. She had seen him around their estate, but never directly interacted with him, and assumed that since she was invisible - servants are invisible, ya know - he had naturally never noticed her. But he had, and once she was no longer considered a member of the servant class it became acceptable for him to pursue her hand.
Emma liked the young lord rather a lot more than any of her other suitors. Servants see a lot of the bad side of people, the way they behave when they think it doesn't matter, but everything Emma had seen of this man indicated he was kind, generous, and caring. He didn't gamble, drink to excess, or treat children or animals with disrespect. All in all, she agreed with her father that this man would make her a fine husband, and so she actively encouraged his courtship of her.
He took her to court, the theater, on picnics in the woods, and escorted her to banquets -- anyplace they could be seen together, so that society could see he had staked his claim upon her. He was ever so sweet, thoughtful, attentive - and she was very happy to wear the little baubles and pieces of jewelry with which he gifted her to symbolize his esteem. The best of them was an exquisite little charm bracelet he'd had made for her. She loved it dearly, and quickly agreed to his request that she wear it always so that his gift, at least, could be with her when he himself could not.
What Emma didn't know was that her favorite suitor was a vampire hunter engaged in an ongoing grudge match with a local vampire, and was using her as bait. Years before, the hunter killed one of the vamp's undead friends. The vampire retaliated by killing one of the hunter's friends. This established a pattern of retribution that went on for many years, until the hunter killed a female vampire who, quite by accident, turned out to be the object of his nemesis' centuries-long love. The vamp got even for that by killing the lord's mother and sister. Furious, the lord came up with the idea of luring the vampire into a final battle by flaunting a "new love" of his own: Emma.
The lord had seen Emma at the home of his friend (one of the latest casualties in his war with the vampire, as it happens) while she was still a servant there. When he became aware of the change in her circumstances he realized she was the perfect bait. He didn't want to endanger anyone important, or anyone for whom he actually had feelings. Emma, though, was now socially suitable and acceptable enough to be believable as a wifely candidate, yet far enough outside the circle of "real" nobility that no one who mattered would care if she died as a result of his scheme. So he gave her jewelry enchanted with silent alarms and locator spells and then courted her as publicly as possible, to taunt his undead enemy.
The rest of the story goes pretty much how you'd expect. The vampire kidnapped Emma from her bed late one night and spirited her away to punish the hunter, all the while delighting in explaining to Emma exactly who was to blame for her predicament, and why. The magical bracelet he'd given Emma alerted the hunter that she'd been taken and led him to her just a moment too late to prevent her being Turned. He and the vampire fought an epic battle suitable for any film of the appropriate genre, which of course left them both completely dead.
Emma's life, which had begun to seem so full of promise toward the end, was completely ruined. She went from nearly-engaged debutante to unloved and undead in the blink of an eye, and had no Sire to guide her through the transitions or help her understand the new realities of her existence. She was understandably upset by this state of affairs.
After a couple of excruciatingly confusing and painful days on her own, Emma was taken in by some of the local vampires and shown the ropes. She made a quiet, comfortable place for herself in their society and gradually forgot about her old life. The one thing she was never able to let go of, however, was her deep hatred of vampire hunters.
The Hunt
Emma takes an eminently practical and easy-going stance on most everything, with the notable exceptions of vampire hunters and other fanatics. Having seen first-hand the kind of trauma and disruption crusading hunters inflict upon both the living and undead, Emma made it her business to take down any she encountered. But also due to the circumstances of her Turning, Emma restricts the battle to her primary target and tries to avoid involving non-combatants from either side.
In the early 1600s, Emma hit upon the idea of killing vampire hunters before they could get enough training or experience to be a serious problem. Now she hunts them.
Personality/Behavior Pattern Notes
Some terms that describe Emma's demeanor are: Open, honest, sincere, direct, amiable, cheerful, warm & caring, thoughtful, generous, capable, pragmatic, reasonably intelligent, and down-to-earth. It is common knowledge the Emma stays out of the political arena as much as possible and can be trusted to keep her word, watch your back, and ruthlessly stomp out any vampire hunting activities in the vicinity.
Emma's decision-making processes are based primarily on a flexible system of situational ethics (chaotic good with neutral tendencies). She believes in friendship, cause-and-effect, and enlightened self-interest -- in that order. She doesn't believe anyone is inherently superior or inferior to anyone else unless they prove themselves otherwise through word or deed, but recognizes that most people need to play at politics and dominance games in order to have a sense of structure in their lives.
She makes friends easily and gets testy when betrayed by them, mostly because she can't conceive of whatever being gained by that betrayal could possibly be valuable enough to warrant the loss a friend. Which is why Emma usually interprets this sort of behavior as proof of their inferiority.
Political power means nothing to Emma, and material wealth is only a means to finance her comfort, entertainment, and hunts - not a goal in and of itself. Her investments and accounts are cared for by a very discreet financial firm descended from the company originally created by her father to oversee the duke's affairs.
Emma feels that people are people, regardless of whether they have a pulse or inordinately pointy teeth. She has social connections and friends on both sides of the alive/not-alive fence - partly because she enjoys taking part in both worlds and partly because she knows that if she remains aloof from the world of humans she won't have access to the human rumor-mills that give so much information regarding the doings and whereabouts of vampire hunters.
Although not a mage, herself, Emma understands the value of certain magics in her line of work, and has befriended human and supernatural practitioners of many diverse magical styles and schools. In fact, the majority of her current connections with the human world is through the occult-friendly portions of their society.
Web Weaving by Argante D.H. © 1997-2005
Content Development by Argante D.H. © 1992-2005
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