Ermondy, Octavia

Baroness Octavia Ermondy is the vampire queen of the Nottingham Hive. The locals do not know she is a vampire, but believe she is an eccentric member of aristocracy.Defy or Defend, Chapter Two: Wedded Bliss and Other Complications 
== Description ==
Baroness Ermondy is a rail-thin woman with a mass of gorgeous red hair. She is quite tall with high cheekbones, big blue eyes, and a thin-lipped mouth. 
== Personality ==
She looks profoundly aristocratic and pinched by decades of suspicion. 
== History ==
Prior to the beginning of Defy or Defend, Baroness Ermondy's oldest vampire, Lord Rashwollop, was put to death for murdering humans. To fill his place she tried unsuccessfully to turn a new vampire but failed. 
== In the Books ==
=== Defy or Defend ===
Baroness Ermondy sequestered herself into a sandstone cave before the beginning of Defy or Defend. The War Office is concerned her hive is going goth, so they send Dimity and Crispin to save or condemn them. Dimity redecorated her hive and enticed the baroness to meet her by sending in fashion plates and fabric swatches. Baroness Ermondy had taken the habit of never repeating a meal, until Betsy returned to request a second visit with the baroness. The baroness took a liking to her, exclusively feeding from Betsy, and stopped feeding when she wasn't hungry instead of daily. 
On the night of the intellectual salon, Dimity delayed feeding time until Baroness Ermondy started yelling for her. Upon seeing the beautiful blue bustled dress Dimity brought for her, the baroness calmed down and allowed Dimity to hear her woes. First the Countess Nadasdy had set a fashion trend that very unflattering to Ermondy's figure. Then her oldest hive member, Lord Rashwollop, went loopy, killed half a dozen humans and was put down by BUR. Next one of her drones left her to move to London, because Nottingham was too provincial. This was when the baroness took to her bed in sorrow. Finally, one of her drones requested the bite and when it failed she declared she could take no more trials and retreated to the caves. 
Through a little big of nagging, a little bit of enticing, Dimity was able to convince the vampire queen to join the party upstairs. Baroness Ermondy is pleased to see her vampires again, and quickly makes the new drone applicants (Betsy, Gantry and Rosie) official. 
== Trivia ==
* According to Lord Akeldama, she has a fondness for athletic young men with aggressive jawlines. 
== Quotes ==
* "She's clearly not that weak. Something dire most have set her off. Could be the death, could be something more decorative." - Lord Akeldama (Defy or Defend, Chapter Two)
* "None of us thought Baroness Ermondy would put up with that nonsense, but presumably she has, or I'd already have heard the screaming rants. Used to be that if any of us tried to change anything around the hive, or even recommended a change, the baroness had hysterics. After she had her last ig fit and took to her cave, all the other drones left." - Mr. Theris (Defy or Defend, Chapter Eight)
* "Baroness Octavine Ermondy was a stunning woman, rail thin and quite tall, with high cheekbones, big blue eyes, thin-lipped mouth over four prominent fangs and a mass of gorgous red hair. She looked profoundly aristocratic and pinched by decades of suspicion." (Defy or Defend, Chapter Nine)
* "'Pined you say? Isn't that sweet? They are dears, of course. I should be up there with them. But I was so lost to my melancholy, you understand? I forgot about such things. Lost to the despair for a while. Until Betsy. And this dress.'" - Baroness Ermondy (Defy or Defend, Chapter Nine)
== References ==
Category:Characters
Category:Parasolverse Characters
Category:Vampire
Category:Vampire Queen
Category:Supernaturals