Gretel

Gretel is a minor character in Black Souls I and a temporary ally in Black Souls II. Her name is derived from the character of the same name in a fairytale written by the Brothers Grimm, "Hansel and Gretel." In both games, she appears alongside her brother, Hansel.
==Appearance==
Gretel appears as a young girl with light blue eyes, white skin, and long blonde hair that's been styled decently, reaching down to her waist. Her bangs cover her eyes slightly, the lowermost part located between her eyes. Her clothing comprises a simple white undershirt with puffed up sleeves, and a brown chest piece. A small light blue ribbon is embedded on her collar, and a headband with a decorative flower sits snugly on her head.
As a Demonbeast, in her "Cursed Sister" form, her appearance drastically changes to a red cyclops with a round body, muscular arms, one horn and a tail. She carries a giant, bloodstained knife blade in combat, carrying it with one arm.
==Personality==
Pessimistic and disinterested, Gretel is a stark contrast to her older brother, and it can be easy to mistake who exactly the older sibling is. She acts to serve her own interests, discarding those who she believes won't prove vital to her own survival; replacing someone with another, more "efficient" person is not at all an issue to her. She seems to enjoy talking down to people who she thinks deserves it, and tends to be blunt with her thoughts, no matter the person. This often puts her in more trouble than necessary.
Because of this thought process of efficiency and self-serving nature, she has trouble with keeping legitimate bonds with people, only seeing them as a factor rather than as an actual person. Her viewpoint on what an older sibling should be—strong and reliable, as she insists on calling Grimm—was borne from this principle, and she would easily put a stake on even her familial bonds if it meant that she would benefit from it. If her plans go wrong, she's prone to outbursts, becoming upset that she made such a risk and feeling entitled to what she wants because of such sacrifices. 
==Biography==
===Black Souls I===
Gretel's story, alongside Hansel's, is similar to the original fairytale. They were kicked out of their home by their mother so that she would be able to selfishly conserve more of the food and water for herself, at the cost of losing her children. They were given bread before getting kicked out, which gave Hansel the idea to leave behind crumbs so that they can eventually find their way home. This evidently backfires, as the crumbs disappear due to animals within the forest having eaten them themselves. At some point she and her brother eat mushrooms out of desperation, fueling their demonbeast forms and effectively sealing their doom.
The remainder of Gretel's as well as his brother's story is influenced by Grimm's actions, or lack thereof.Before Grimm approaches the Witch's House to meet with Dorothy, a trail of items will be present within the Abandoned Forest, each one of them giving Grimm breadcrumbs if he picks them up. If he picks up a single one, the entrance to Dorothy's house will be fogged, and entering through will reveal Gretel, alongside her brother, as demonbeasts. Perceiving the undead as a dessert, they initiate a fight. Once Grimm defeats the two of them, their fairytale will drop, and their story ends.
Conversely, should he ignore the trail of items, the house will not be fogged, and Gretel alongside her brother will be revealed as normal children. Gretel will have a short conversation with her brother, although it's mostly one-sided on his brother's end. He's amazed by how lucky they were to find a house in the woods and that they would be back home in no time, but Gretel tells him to be quiet, clearly annoyed by his optimism and ending their altercation. Killing them will always be an option from this point, but can be rendered impossible if Grimm makes a specific choice.
If Grimm approaches her, she will rudely dismiss him, before stating they were abandoned by their mother and is frustrated that Hansel's too naïve to see their fate. Talking to her once, Grimm can give candy to Hansel, prompting Sinner Vilt to arrive at the doorstep of Dorothy's home. If the undead doesn't kill him immediately, he tells Grimm that he's part of Gretel's family, and that he wishes to share his souls with her and her brother so that they will not transform into demonbeasts.
Grimm can choose to kill Vilt immediately, retaining progression for Hansel and Gretel's side quest, or follow through with his request to get a match from Elma so that he can properly share souls with the siblings. Should the undead do the latter, Vilt will head inside, before having a short conversation with Hansel and Gretel. Hansel will appear confused by the man's claim of being their brother, leading the man to believe that the two had already become demonbeasts, before turning into one himself so that he can "save them." If Grimm leaves the area or loses the fight against Demonbeast Vilt, Gretel will be consumed with her older brother. 
Whichever way Grimm decides to deal with Vilt, entering the Witch's House again will trigger another cutscene as Hansel exclaims that he and his sister will turn into demonbeasts. Gretel will tell him off when he asks Grimm to give both him and his sister souls, saying that the prospect of feeding souls can strictly only be between a man and a woman, as it is simply more efficient that way. However, Grimm is given the choice between only Gretel, only her brother, or the both of them. 
If Grimm feeds only Hansel souls, Gretel will be confused by the action, before having a complete meltdown, wondering why she was even born a girl. Hansel will try and comfort her, but she screams before leaving the house. When fighting her, she attacks Grimm in revenge for choosing Hansel over her despite offering him everything. On the other hand, if you feed Gretel souls, she insults Hansel more, calling him completely useless and makes him run off in tears to turn into a demonbeast instead. Gretel will not at all be bothered by his fate, stating she can be with Grimm forever, reiterating how strong and older sibling-like he is. Should Grimm choose to feed the both of them souls, she will show annoyance over Grimm choosing to save Hansel as well, but later wonder if she's being too hard on him. 
Should Grimm reenter the Witch's House after either forming a covenant with or killing the first four Demonic Princesses, and he made the choice of giving souls to both Hansel and Gretel, the two siblings will have been killed by Lindamea due to their corruption. Leaf comments shortly afterward on their fate, pondering on why humans kill, destroy, and die, and what could have been if she and her brother had been raised in a household that could sustain them, or one that at least loved them regardless of the horrible conditions. She remarks that this wasn't so, and because of that, this was how their tale ended. 
===Black Souls II===
Gretel returns solely as a Dream Spirit alongside her brother Hansel to help Grimm fight against the Pregnant Cake inside Infinite Food, both in their Cursed Sibling forms. After the fight, their fairytale is added to Grimm's inventory. 
==Relationships==
===Hansel===
Gretel very much sees her older brother as a burden, mainly due to his apparent unreliability, time and time again. Because Hansel doesn't quite follow her construction of how an older sibling should act, she acts antagonistic towards him, especially if he annoys her. Were it not for his existence, she believes that mother never would have kicked her out. His gentle and compromising nature leads her even more anguished with him as a whole, leading to a vicious circle where Gretel's insults and Hansel's submissiveness aggregate one another, leading to an exponentially worsening toxic relationship.
Hansel's care towards her, while unconditional on his end, is one-sided, and even if he tries to comfort her, it falls on deaf ears. She doesn't bother vouching for him on the topic of sharing souls, not reacting much if she's chosen over Hansel. To her, it was the expected result; she believes herself and Grimm as higher than her own older brother, and therefore, the latter should simply be disregarded and replaced.
===Grimm===
The undead was initially seen as useless, dismissing his significance but still taking the time to express her complaints about her current circumstance, including that of her brother Hansel. Should Grimm progress through their side quest and kill Vilt, however, her opinion on him seems to drastically change. Even if the sinner was not killed in front of her, to which she'll compliment Grimm for being strong and bold, she's insistent that she receives his souls, proving that her attraction to him is not for himself, but rather his souls. 
She only cares about Grimm mainly because of this economical exchange than anything else, naming him her new "big brother" if she's chosen over Hansel in an attempt to appease him. She feels entitled to this attention, as she appears especially furious if turned down by Grimm.
==Enemy==
==Trivia==
*As she's based off of her story counterpart, she shares similarities to the original character, as well as her fairytale:
**Her family comprises her, her brother Hansel, a father and a mother.
*** Akin to the plot of the original, the mother was explicitly said to be the one to abandon them, for the same reasoning of famine.
***The father isn't mentioned much at all, but it can be implied that his counterpart here also lacked a backbone, and was forced to abandon Gretel with her brother because of his wife's urging.
**Both found a house in the middle of the woods belonging to a witch.
***However, this iteration's house belongs to Dorothy, a character from a different fairytale entirely.
***Additionally, her house is made of conventional building materials, and not of foodstuffs. Instead, it only appears made of the latter to Hansel and Gretel, as both have eaten mushrooms in order to keep hunger at bay.
***While the witch in the original tale gave them ample amounts of food and warm beds, Dorothy doesn't give them much at all; she either doesn't care or is ignorant to the circumstance of the siblings.
*She and Hansel are one of a few minor, non-companion characters that have a dialogue sprite.
*Their tale in Black Souls II has notably been rewritten from the original in Black Souls I, contextualizing their story as one of justice and revenge due to neglect, rather than submission and quiet loss due to the same.
**Despite this, the siblings' personalities remain largely the same: Hansel is the only one who cares about the other sibling, and Gretel doesn't seem hesitant to note him as useless if he falls in battle.
==Navigation==