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countbythrees's Journal

Created on 2006-12-22 08:26:40 (#11877132), never updated

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Basic Info

Name:	countbythrees

Bio

Name: Grace
Age: 45
Birthday: April 22 [Taurus], 582 AR
Class: Civilian
Country: Dentoria

History

Grace was born into a family who have served House Vernhail as servants for centuries, the eldest girl of five, and thus, from the moment she was born, her future was virtually assured. Her father was the head of the kitchens, regularly winning great renown for his dishes, and her mother waited on the Lady, a job that Grace herself would one day succeed. Grace grew up being what her parents called "nervy"; she worried constantly about little things such as how clean a pot was before she carried it over to her father, or the chances of her falling ill the next day, or things that may or may not happen far in the future. Her parents did not quite know how to deal with their daughter when she started obsessing over such things, and rather, hoped that it was a childish phase that would pass when she got older.

The very first proper job Grace was assigned, when she turned fifteen, was cleaning the manor. It was a strange job to give to someone who, by her own admission, could not stand dirt and dust, but soap and water and mops and brooms were her allies in her neverending battle against the terrors of grime and filth, and the end result was that while Grace held that job, there was no better cleaning maid in the Vernhail household than her, although she insisted that cleaning over a surface once was not sufficient, it had to be cleaned three times before she was satisfied.

Grace had worked as a cleaning maid for three more years until she began to help her mother wait on the then Lady of Vernhail, the Lady Eilena, with the expectation that she would one day have the duty for herself. Lady Eilena took to the young Grace and the habits everyone else had thought strange but tolerated. Instead, Lady Eilena found the way Grace insisted (with all due respect, milady) that she just had to make sure that the hem on a favourite ballgown was at this length, that the bed had to be set with the covers perfectly creaseless, and how there must be fresh flowers in all the vases, cute, for lack of a better term, and the two got along so well that by the time Grace's mother retired from her job, she was barely missed.

Grace continued to serve Lady Eilena even when the Lady's husband, the ruling Lord of Vernhail, died and their son took his inheritance, even when by rights, she should be serving the new Lord's wife, Lady Bianca. Eilena had insisted on keeping Grace, the person who she saw as devoted to making her lady's life as comfortable as possible, as her personal maid, it was not so much for a grieving widow to ask for surely? Grace herself was quite happy to stay on, both because she honestly was devoted to Lady Eilena and because she was very worried about having to change mistresses, and Grace does not take well to change.

Eilena's husband's death, however, sparked new worries in Grace about how close Eilena herself must be to joining him. From then on, every time Eilena sneezed, coughed, felt tired or hot, or had a headache or stomach problems, Grace would insist that Eilena had to rest, or have a physician see to her, and she began to obsess over her lady's health, taking to cleaning her rooms with renewed flourish.

Despite Grace's best efforts, Lady Eilena died in her sleep, and Grace by then had served her for twenty-five years. She has been in the service of Lady Bianca for two years now, and unlike Lady Eilena, Bianca finds Grace's habits peculiar, and Grace has now taken to worrying about the prospect of Bianca disliking her enough to ask that she take on a new job.

Personality

To an outsider, Grace comes off as a pleasant old woman, perhaps a little nervous, a little shy, perhaps a little anxious, but she otherwise seems like every other maid in the service of House Vernhail. However, to say that Grace is anxious belies the true extent of it. She worries about everything, from how contaminated a plate was before she put food on it, to the chances of the dikes breaking and Verhail flooding tomorrow. Nothing seems to relieve this stress she places on herself but her little, harmless compulsions, such as needing to count everything in threes, and polishing the furniture until she can see her face reflected on it. While most of her fellow servants and superiors see these habits as eccentric, they also know that these habits are fairly innocuous, and since Grace is from a family who have served Vernhail for as long as anyone can remember, and that there is no question that Grace herself is very loyal, there is no point in attempting to rein her in. For now.

Grace wishes that she can find a way to stop worrying and obsessing over little things. She wishes that she didn't have to resort to what must be irritating little habits and rituals for relief. One of few comforts she has is that at least she has shelter, food, and work that pays well, as what Grace needs most of all is security, and it is difficult to imagine how she could possibly function outside the confines of Vernhail Manor. She is too afraid to find out.

Appearance

Grace is of average height for her age, although she is quite thin and seems very frail, as if a strong wind would knock her down. She is often wearing the dress of a maid, and ties her long brown hair back because she cannot stand having it in her face. She always looks either nervous or worried.

Grace is a fictional character played by megaera_inc for himitsu_sensou. She is played by Kallen's mother (who I don't believe has been given a name yet, so lets just call her Koizumi Obasan) from Code Geass, which is not mine.