Crescentia

## Kaiserin Crescentia

> "*Even now, I don't hate her. I pity her, I fear her, but I also love her.*"
> ― Theodosia, about Cress
>
>

**Kaiserin Crescentia,** also known as **Cress,** was a Kalovaxian noble, the daughter of the Theyn, and formerly Theodosia's heart's sister.

## Physical Appearance

Originally, Crescentia was described as wearing her happiness like the sun's rays, warming those around her. She had an effortless, childlike beauty with dainty features, wide, gray eyes like her mother's, and long, pale blond hair.

After being poisoned with the Encatrio, however, Cress' skin turns chalky, with a grey sheen, except for her neck, which is coal-black from her jaw to her collarbone. Her lips are charred black, and she is mentioned to have painted them over with black lacquer. Her hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows have all turned brittle and white, and her hair now ends, frayed and broken, at her shoulders. Cress' eyes are described as red-rimmed and her expression like ice.

## Personality

Crescentia was once a sweet, kind and optimistic girl who was accepting of Theo while other Kalovaxians, especially Kalovaxian nobles were not; however, cracks of her dark side begin to show throughout the book. Cress deliberately turns a blind eye to the Astrean slaves' suffering due to fear of getting in trouble with the Kaiser. She is deeply in love with Prinz Soren, and craves the title of Princezin, so much that she made Theo wear an ugly gray dress when they went out to dinner with him after noticing his interest in Theo, but she genuinely loved her because they were heart sisters. She is incredibly intelligent, as she was able to figure out Theo's plot before it was carried out, but she chose and even said she would not to tell others about it, as long as Theo co-operated, emphasizing how much she cared about Theo. Around the end of the book, Crescentia becomes a shadow of her old self, showing her dark side, feeling betrayed by Theo and says that she would be cheering the most at her execution. She is now cold, cruel and hateful toward not only Theo, but to all Astreans. As the story unfolds, Cress shows herself to be a murderess, but she also feels lonely and isolated after Theodosia's betrayal, and as Kaiserin

## Biography

### Ash Princess

Crescentia starts as a beautiful, young, happy girl who helped Theodosia cope with her life in the Kaiser's hands. Both of the girls were very close, so much that they were heart's sisters. Cress accompanies Theodosia, pep talks her about court matters as well as boys, and overall makes Theo happy.

However, the friction starts to build when the Kaiser's son, Prinz Soren, returns to court. Crescentia was betrothed to Soren the moment she was born and Soren resented her for it. He started like to like Theodosia and Cress noticed. So, on an unfortunate day, when Soren invited Theo and Cress over to a friendly dinner, Cress forced Theo to wear a hideous gray dress while she wore a beautiful gown. Prinz Soren and his brother Erik noticed, but still the Prinz wanted Theo, and not Cress.

As the love between Theo and Soren bloomed, Theo and Soren began exchanging love letters. Crescentia didn't know yet about the letter, but she was able to figure out that something was happening between Theo and the Prinz, making her grow colder and more agitated. She soon discovered the letters as well as Theodosia's friends and forced her Theo to play into Cress's game.

This sowed tension between the two, causing Theo to have Elpis serve her former heart's sister the liquid fire and the blemishing seeds. On the night of the banquet, Cress's servant, Elpis, caused the Theyn's daughter's skin to blemish and redden, banning her from going to the party. Consequently, her father, [[Theyn|The Theyn, did not take part, because he wanted to know her better, and spent his last night with his daughter. Elpis slipped the Encatrio into their wines. Perilous though it may be, the Encatrio failed to kill Crescentia, but did kill her father.

In the end, Crescentia finally showed up to the Ash Princess telling her that she would burn off Theodosia's country to the ground when she becomes Kaiserin. Cress can no longer be called pretty for her smooth neck had become charred black and gray, her hair whitened and was singed at the end and her lips became black shadow of their original version.

### Death

She was sitting in her cell in the dungeon, after Theo claimed the throne, and kills herself willingly with Theo's dagger after she is given the choice to be publicly executed or privately killed.

## Trivia

* Cress takes her coffee spiced, with a generous dollop of honey.

## References

1. ↑ *Ash Princess* p. 3
2. ↑ *Ash Princess* p. 382
3. ↑ *Lady Smoke* Excerpt