Clarisse Toland

Clarisse Toland is the youngest of three sisters, born to Ella Wells and her late husband, Yorick Toland. Her love of secrets and rumors - which sometimes verges on compulsive curiosity - serves her well as her lady cousin's spymaster.

## Appearance and Character

Much like her mother, Clarisse Toland is a lean, lithe woman, with narrow hips and slender, sloping shoulders. She has long, dark hair which she keeps clean and well-combed, but leaves otherwise unstudied. Her features - almond-shaped, brown eyes, thick brows, and full lips - rarely conspire to convey any emotions other than boredom or bemusement. Her wardrobe is similarly unexpressive, comprised solely of white dresses made of comfortable, loose-fitting fabrics, such as silk and satin. The only aspect of her appearance about which she seems to care is her fingernails, which she keeps immaculately short and smooth.

Ever since she was a girl, Clarisse has been possessed by an insatiable curiosity. Namely, she has always found people and their secrets fascinating. She devoted every moment she could to eavesdropping, people-watching, and gossiping, and was generally regarded as a tremendous nuisance. This remains the case, though her temperament has changed considerably. Following the death of her father, the once incorrigibly enthusiastic girl became cold and withdrawn. Her life halted, and she filled the void with the lives of others, deriving satisfaction and dry amusement from their machinations. Only a smattering of her family members and a handful of handmaidens can claim to know Clarisse, and even then, there are many times where she simply seems unknowable.

## History

On the 23rd day of the 8th moon of 77 AC, Ella Toland, wife of Yorick Toland, gave birth to the third, and last, of their children: Clarisse. She was a frail girl, small and light, but ever so energetic. Throughout her youth, the halls of Ghost Hill echoed with her voice, her laughter, and the pattering of her little feet. She was a friend to many and everyone knew her well - though not as well as she knew them. Clarisse had a habit of peering through keyholes and hiding in closets, always sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Some found this endearing, while others - often those with something to hide - found it incredibly irritating. However, her parents were typically too preoccupied with her older sisters or with bickering with each other to scold her properly. Even when one of them did decide to reprimand the inquisitive girl for her prying, the other would usually undermine them, suggesting that they were being too harsh on Clarisse. They were incapable of agreeing.

Yorick and Ella Toland hated each other; their relationship was founded on jealousy and mistrust. As a young man, Yorick was content to spend his days in the courtyard and his nights in brothels, but, at the behest of his parents, he eventually set out on a tour of Dorne to find a suitable wife. During this tour, he became smitten with Bella Wells, Ella's ever popular older sister. He devoted himself to courting her, showering her with gifts, praise, and attention, all the while ignoring her sister completely. Fueled by years of festering bitterness, the envious Ella offered herself to Yorick, and, being a man with little self-control, Yorick gladly took her to bed. The next morning, Ella attempted to leverage the loss of her innocence to pressure Yorick into marrying her, but Yorick refused. He named her a seductress and a snake, and spurned her remorselessly. He loved Bella, and Ella would not get in his way. Yet, his actions had consequences. Wounded and full of spite, Ella bragged to her sister about what she and Yorick had done. That same day, Yorick was sent back to Ghost Hill, and Ella was sent with him. Bella did not attend their wedding, and the sisters have not spoken since.

Yorick resented Ella for purportedly stealing him from his true love, while Ella resented Yorick for so readily casting her aside in favor of her sister, even after taking her maidenhead. If they were in the same room, they were either fighting or fucking. There was no peace. Matters only worsened after the first of their three daughters, Teora, was born. The resemblance between her and Bella was uncanny, and it only grew with every passing day. For many years, this served as a painful reminder to both Yorick and Ella of the miserable mistakes from which their marriage was borne, but as Teora grew older, Yorick's attitude changed. He began to dote upon her, pampering her with gifts and attention. Nymella, Teora and Clarisse's sister, managed to divert some of his love and attention unto her by modelling herself after him, but he never paid anywhere near as much attention to her and Clarisse as he did to Teora. Little did they know how fortunate they were.

Nymella and Clarisse were too young to suspect anything, but Ella knew better than to trust her husband. She would often pull Teora aside and ask her if Yorick was mistreating her, but Teora would always claim her father loved her and treated her kindly. She would confront Yorick, pushing him regarding his suspicious behavior, but he would always find a way to convince her she was imagining things. Of course, Ella was right, but she didn't find out the truth on her own. It was Clarisse, curious, clever little Clarisse, who discovered her sister and her father together. If only she had slipped away that first time, she would have told her mother everything and it would have ended then. Alas, Yorick caught Clarisse spying and swore her to secrecy. More afraid of her father than ever - and inclined to obey Teora as well, who begged Clarisse not to tell their mother - the girl of nine years buried the truth deep inside of herself. It wasn't until two years later that Clarisse finally broke her vow, prompted by bloody rags she found hidden underneath Teora's bed.

Furious and vindicated, Ella marched with her youngest daughter to Yorick's chambers and confronted him therein. He denied Clarisse's accusations adamantly as much as he could, but it became clear he could no longer fool his wife. He lashed out at Clarisse and at Ella, cursing his daughter for revealing the truth and his wife for every perceived wrong she had ever inflicted upon him. And then, he struck Ella, punching her in the stomach with all of his might. Clarisse cried out in terror and retreated, and in doing so, she bumped into a nightstand and knocked over a candle. A curtain caught fire, prompting Clarisse to flee. Yorick turned to stomp out the fire. Ella saw an opportunity. While her daughter darted down the stairs, she struck her oblivious husband over the head. As Yorick laid unconscious on the floor, Ella threw a few more candles into the curtains and smashed a bottle of rum on the ground, and before long, the minor inconvenience Clarisse had caused had become an inferno.

It did not take long for the fire to be contained. A few people were burned, but only one person died: Yorick Toland. Ella had successfully murdered her husband, protecting her daughters and freeing herself from a lifetime of misery. However, this remained a secret. To almost everyone else, the fire was an accident caused by a drunken Yorick tripping over his nightstand and dropping a bottle of rum into an upturned candle. Yet, there was one person who knew this to be untrue, but who also only knew part of the truth: Clarisse. Fearing Clarisse might spill the truth, Ella kept her crime secret from her daughter, allowing her to believe that she was responsible for the fire that killed her father. At the funeral, Teora wept. Nymella wept. The entirety of Ghost Hill wept. Even Ella feigned tears.

Clarisse was never the same.

## Family

As of 98 AC, the living members of her family are the following:

- Ella Wells (b. 56 AC), mother of Teora, Nymella, and Clarisse

- Teora Toland (b. 74 AC), Clarisse's oldest sister.

- Nymella Toland (b. 76 AC), Clarisse's older sister.

- **Clarisse Toland** (b. 77 AC), Spymistress of Ghost Hill

- Ashlynn Toland (b. 87 AC), the Lady of Ghost Hill and Clarisse's first cousin once removed

- Maron Toland (b. 73 AC), Lady Ashlynn's uncle and heir.

- Nymeria Toland (b. 79 AC), Lady Ashlynn's aunt

- Meria Toland (b. 80 AC), Lady Ashlynn's aunt

- Marlene Sand (b. 80 AC), Lady Ashlynn's first cousin.

The full Toland family tree can be checked following this link: http://www.familyecho.com/?p=START&c=7mskzp2vga&f=264689359165514289