Isabella DeThane

**Biography:** Born the oldest child of House DeThane, the hereditary ruling house of Bright Harbour and surrounding region, Isabella’s life was laid out for her from the start. She was educated in all the necessary fields to be the leader of that house, most especially finance, since Bright Harbour is the biggest port in Kyaine (and all of Menechit), and grew up prepared to rule with the help of her companion Suzanna. On a royal visit to Bright Harbour one day, Isabella met Francesca DiGorre’s companion Cordelia, instantly disliked her, dated her for two months, left her for a boy named Hermano, then left him for Cordelia and eventually married her two years later. Selected to serve as the queen’s trade minister, Isabella ruled Bright Harbour from Hawk’s Roost for many years, having three children with Cordelia and enjoying a long period of happiness before a coup left her on the run and without her wife, but with the queen’s grandson and a plan.

**Notes:**

* Isabella is well known and beloved in Bright Harbour, despite having only been there for a cumulative two of the past fifteen years, for her policies towards the poor
* Isabella and Suzanna had a falling out as teenagers and didn’t speak for a few years. They have since mended fences and Suzanna now manages Isabella’s household for her
* Isabella knows that her house doesn’t technically control the waters outside of Bright Harbour, but she decided one day to just act like they did and so far nobody has contradicted her
* Isabella is training Christina to take over House DeThane someday—that Iago and Carlos will feel left out or like she pays them less attention is a major fear of hers
* Many people believe Isabella only married Cordelia for her connections. This is not at all true
* Though it would be politically advantageous, Isabella is determined not to arrange marriages for her children. Her parents didn’t arrange one for her and she knows she’s happier for it
* After the coup, Isabella and her family stayed with her brother’s family for a few days before getting on a boat. She convinced him to cooperate with the usurper and renounce her so he wouldn’t be in danger
* Isabella never had political ambitions outside of what she grew up with. Given the current circumstances, it’s harder for her not to make grander plans in fear
* Isabella knows Cordelia is alive somewhere. She is positive she would have known if Cordelia had died
* Isabella very much hopes that, after all this is over, they can go back and live in Bright Harbour, instead of Hawk’s Roost. She has never liked Hawk’s Roost

**Quotes:**

* “That you did, Lady Cordelia. You managed to sneak your way into my house without me being any the wiser.”
* “Now you match the standards of beauty set forward by our exacting society.”
* “What’s the use of being married to the queen’s companion if I can’t use her to exert undue influence over the crown?”
* “It’s just you and I here, dear. You don’t have to pretend Francesca helped, and you don’t have to pretend you care about baby Fyrhawk’s title.”
* “I believe we have to prioritize the danger we know exists over the one we fear exists.”
* “Please do try and stand still, son, or I shall poke you with this needle and I can’t promise it will be an accident.”
* “I know she is. It’s just a matter of finding her.”
* “Just…get them away from my children, please.”
* “I’m going to the capital whether you take me with you or not. But if I have the option of travelling with you and your bodyguards, I’d prefer to do that.”
* “The people I came with have all either gone off to deal with Greg or vanished through a magical portal.”
* “You don’t look much like how I pictured God.”
* “I wonder, though. The church may have been organized around this figure, but that doesn’t mean that person was God. She may simply have been using him as a rallying cry, like she did with the early saints.”
* “Nothing wrong with being worldly.”

**Trivia:**

* Growing up, Isabella mostly dated boys, and mostly had sex with girls
* Isabella and Rendell were very close siblings. As teenagers, because Isabella rarely wanted to have sex with boys, they had an arrangement that Rendell could sleep with her boyfriends, which worked out very well for both of them
* The first thing Isabella and Cordelia ever spoke about was the weather. They had a two-hour argument
* Isabella’s early sexual experiences were all with Suzanna, and her early sexual experiences with boys were all with prostitutes. She and Suzanna used to go to a brothel and share a boy for the night
* Isabella has suffered from night terrors for her whole life
* The first time Isabella and Cordelia had sex, it was at the end of a shouting match about how much they hated each other
* One night when she couldn’t sleep, Isabella was looking at the stars and swears she saw a large, oblong horseless carriage flying through the sky
* The only thing Isabella likes about Hawk’s Roost is the Shrike’s Lake, where she likes to sit, read, walk, and swim. She does not swim in the nude as often as she used to
* Isabella feels her breasts are just a little too big and could stand to be smaller
* Isabella enjoys sewing when she has the free time. It’s relaxing for her

**Modern AU:** Modern Isabella has served as a member of city councils since she was old enough to vote, and made the transition to provincial government as a Liberal just after the birth of her first child. A recent gerrymander has forced her to move to a new area to keep her seat, but that’s just how it goes and she’s still got her family, so she’s happy with it. Isabella’s main political work surrounds trade and the economy, with a good amount of economic justice thrown into her portfolio by certain people to whom she is married. Isabella is also a gay rights activist and donates money frequently to shelters for queer youth. When not running a province or spending her free time with her family, Isabella enjoys art galleries, jazz and vacations to places with beaches.