Grace Carroll (Victoria of Winia)

## Grace Carroll

### Signature

"*No man shall presume to hold a position of authority over me! I am the she-wolf of House Romanov!*"

**Lady Grace Carroll** (**née Irene-Aquitania**) was the Countess of Lancaster and the second wife of Earl Luke Carroll (the older brother of famed writer, Lord Lewis Carroll), the Earl of Lancaster. She was the youngest daughter and second-born child of Grand Duchess Marie Nikolaevna of Winia, and Marie`s husband, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia - making her the younger sister of the famed Grand Duchess Kendrick Alexandrovich of Winia. Through her mother, she was related to **Lady Anne Seymour** - a member of the Stanhope family by birth - the Winian Imperial Family have been marrying their Stanhope-cousins for generations; which makes both Grace and Anne closely-related. After marrying an Earl - her family were stunned - as they had expected (due to Victoria`s lavish tastes), that she would marry a man with money; yet she chose a poor Earl to marry. Despite that, Victoria is reputed to have truly loved Luke with all of her heart - even giving up her lavish tastes to raise her daughter correctly, as well as fight off the people who would seek to have their marriage annulled. A fearsome woman, she was described as the "she-wolf" of House Romanov during the time she lived - though the sigil of House Romanov is a lion.

## Etymology

Grace is associated with two Imperial Houses, Romanov, and Irene-Aquitania. The name of the house in Russian is 'Рома́новы' (*Románovy*), a plural noun, meaning 'son of Roman'. Through her husband, she was the very first ancestress of House Carroll (a fairly new noble House) - being one of the first Countess consorts of Lancaster (the traditional estate of House Carroll). Her original first name, Victoria means 'victory' in Latin and is the feminine form of the name Victor. Alice (her middle name) means 'noble, exalted' - while Helena means 'shining light' and Samara means 'guardian or protected by god'. The name she took when she married her husband, "Grace" holds the meaning 'gracious' while her new surname, "Carroll" means 'fierce in battle'. Her original surname of "Irene-Aquitania" holds the meaning 'peace eagle or eagle of peace'.

## Origins

Lady Grace was the youngest daughter of Grand Duchess Marie Nikolaevna of Winia, and Marie's husband, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia - which made her unable to inherit the throne - as her biography published after her death testified to. She has a single older sister, Grand Duchess Kendrick Alexandrovich of Winia. In her biography, she testified as being a devout follower of Athena - having a statue of her in a temple that she had ordered constructed, where she would spend hours worshipping to the Goddess. After her death, many people stated her to be a relative of Athena - which was proven false - as Grace holds the blood of a different Goddess (Isis); the Egyptian Goddess of the Heavens. Most biographies written about her life have been proven as false by her children - as she stayed mostly faithful (only retaliating by having several children out of wedlock with another person, when her husband cheated on her multiple times), never cursed, but was one of the last 'true' archers left in the world as the art gradually faded into obscurity. Princess Athena - one of her late daughters later published a biography about her mother and her storied life after Grace`s death, which was proven to be true by there being written records of the events - which perfectly matched the events which happened in her daughter's books. Her birth year, the day she was born, and even the month she was both were never recorded or even written down (which was highly unusual at the time)- thus her birth couldn`t be truly verified. It was later verified by Historians - that she had been blessed by Athena at birth - and that all of her children inherited the blessing except for **her bastard children**: *Metis, Artemis, Hera, Kassandra, Alexandra, Hecuba, Hebe, Alexander, Paris, Helen, Thetis, Doris, Doretha, Dorthey, Amphitrite, Salacia, Delphinus, Venilia, Amata, and Lavinia*. **Her trueborn children**: ***Athena, Juturna, Canens, Circe, Perse, Hecate, Tethys, Gaia, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Diana, Calliope, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, Aoede, Melete, Mneme, Nete, Mese, Hypate, Cephisso, Apollonis, Borysthenis, Thelxinoë, Archē, Pierus, Neilṓ, Tritṓnē, Asōpṓ, Heptápora, Achelōís, Tipoplṓ, Rhodía, Ialemus, Orpheus, Rhesus, Helike, Dia, Helenus, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Alexei, Marie, Jane, Lada, Agrippina, Alina, Anastasiya, Dinara, Dominika, Feodora, Kira, Larisa, Margarita, Marina, Oksana, Raisa, Sonya, Sophie, Sasha, Sonechka, Svetlana, Taisiya, Yekaterina, Yelizaveta, Aleksandr, Anatoly, Dmitri, Dominik, Eriks, Fedyenka, Irina, Katina, Cameron, Skye, Leslie, Blair, Maisie, Rory, Jamie, Paisley, Isla, Mackenzie, Allison, Rowan, Elsie, Fiona, Finley, Lennox, Camdyn, Calum, Finlay, Glenn, Paden, Marcail, Annabel, Bonnie, Charlotte, Davonna, Belladonna, Absinthe, Ophelia, Regan, Rosemary, Samara, Morrigan, Katla, Lilith, Raven, Poe, Shadow, Onyx, Bram, Samael, Casper, Salem, Draco, Romero, Damien, Norman, Cullen, Abby, Abigail, Adelaide, Alcmene, Amity, Andrina, Angel, Angelique, Arabella, Bianca, Camille, Caroline, Clara, Colette, Michelle, Orion, Merlin, and October.*** After October, she had only one more child - Sofina - who "lived" for only seven weeks before suddenly dying of the sweating disease; in all actuality, she had been sent into a magic-induced coma after using up almost all of her magic to save a falling boy. Her body was later taken out of the Iron Crypt (the resting place of all members of House Carroll), by Patricia Claire Hendrickson - who proceeded to place her in a magical bath to ensure that she would stay healthy for the time she spent asleep recovering.

### Marriage

The earliest record of her marriage dates back to the 1880's - believed to be as late as 1832-1898 at the latest - records of their marriage seems to indicate as such; as their first child (Athena) is recorded as having been born in 1845 (a few years after Lewis`s birth). Initially, the couple only wanted a small intimate wedding but Grace's parents insisted on a large wedding - where the entire Winian Imperial Family attended and happily exchanged greetings with the bride and groom; in Grace`s diary, she described it as "overwhelming" and completely "exhausting" for her. The bride (Grace), was believed to have been sixteen at the time of the marriage, while the groom (Luke), was believed to been seventeen at the time of the marriage. Charles Dodgson, Grace's father-in-law described the wedding as "over-the-top" and described his new daughter-in-law as "a gift". Frances Jane "Fanny" Lutwidge, Grace's mother-in-law, also additionally praised Grace and spoke of her as a friend rather than her mother-in-law. Despite the illegimente children, sired between Grace and Grace's third cousin, Edward - as well as Luke's illegimente children; their marriage survived the test of time and they never made any plans to divorce. In fact, their relationship was working so well - that even their parents expressed disbelief. They raised their illegimente children and trueborn children together - with their children living up to their own goals - one of their illegimente children; Lord Alexander grew up to become the heir apparent of his father's Earldom, only to be disinherited and stripped of his status/rank within House of Carrol after he married outside of the family, which his parents regarded as inproper. The newly-dubbed Carroll's had been practicing distant-cousins marriages for a very long time, and her eldest son (Alexander) was expected to follow the required tradition in order to succeed to the Earldom. Thus, Metis (the eldest of her bastard children) replaced Alexander as the heir apparent to the Earldom - the Carrol's practiced absolute primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child (regardless of gender) would inherit; Metis had not wanted to succeed and even trying giving up her rights, which partly succeeded as Alexander became the heir apparent. However, after marrying somebody that was not a relative, he was subsequently permenantly removed and barred from succeeding, making Metis the heir apparent. She passed her illegimente children off as her trueborn children - which succeeded in alleviating suspicion against her illegimente children. Grace and her husband, Luke, were growing extremely tired with their eldest son's refusal to marry Anne Chesterfield - even Metis (his own older full-blooded sister) expressing her disbelief at his decision; growing tired of his parents, Alexander ran away from home and joined the British Royal Navy. Grace was furious and blamed her husband, Luke, for his refusal citing his growing "neglect" of Alexander and his lack of paternal affection/supervision as "dangerous" and "hazard-inducing", much to his great anger. Metis quickly married Pierre François (a 11th-cousin of her mother) - which made her mother happy, though her father was unhappy with the lack of financial support his "daughter" would receive, should she marry Pierre; he reluctantly agreed to the marriage, after Pierre was discovered to be the heir to a Marquis's March (that of House Lancaster - an extremely prominent Northern clan). Only a few years after their marriage, Metis died in childbirth while giving birth to her and Pierre's sole child; a daughter named Danica (who would inherit the March of her father).

### Relationship with children

Mrs. Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore, the Duchess of Roses (her private secretary and later on, personal biographer), described Grace's relationship with her children as "boisterous" and "extremely rocky" due to her refusal to allow marriages that were not to family members, to be approved of - her husband also followed the same vein of thought and they refused offers that were not from members of their own family for their children. Metis described her mother as "somewhat controlling" in one instance and "terrifying" when somebody made her mad. Many of her children took on pseudonyms to search for brides/grooms for themselves, without their controlling parents looking over their shoulders. Metis was dubbed *shvibzik*, Russian for "imp" - due to her mischievousness which she [Grace] described as "something inherited" from both of her parents. During her youth, Grace was described as incredibly mischievous - as recounted in her diary entries, she was a mischief maker and even expressed that outwardly (at times), when playing with her children. After the death of her husband (one month before she had given birth) - she spiraled downward into despair. All of her older/younger children openly feared her rage and refused to even speak to her for a total of eight months, after she had given birth to Onyx (one of their many younger siblings) - they feared that she would try to control their lives even further.

#### Health

Grace's health was never robust and her frequent pregnancies, with twenty children (mix of bastard and otherwise) drew greatly from her energy. She is noted to have suffered from Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism), a condition resulting in high levels of the thyroid hormone, which can also result in atrial fibrillation, poor heartbeat and lack of energy. She was constantly tired, slept badly, and complained of swollen feet. Due to her poor health, she was constantly found resting and rarely-if-ever hosted social gatherings - though when she did so, she always had one of her children stand in for her. Like Alexandra Feodorovna, Grace took a medicine known as Adonis Vernalis - in order to regulate her pulse. After the death of her husband, Luke, her mental health dipped even further in dangerous territory - after birth of her youngest child (Sofina); she contracted the sweating disease and became very ill.

## Death

On 19 November 1992, Grace died from the sweating disease (a rare disease). Sofina also "died" alongside her with the two being washed with warm water and placed in white gowns, with a cornet being placed on both of their heads. They were interred in the Iron Crypt - from which Sofina was taken - which enraged the members of House Carroll (especially Metis and Alexander, Sofina's half-siblings); Casper and his wife, Olivia (who married one year before Sofina's birth) described the death of his mother as highly "traumatic" and "guilt-ridden", as he had never realized to what extent his mother (especially) had protected him. With her death, he was only now recognizing the significance, she held in his life and the influence she held over it. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia (her father) greatly and widely acknowledged her role in helping to revolutionize medicine in the Winian Empire.

## Legacy

Grace Carroll was one of two children of Grand Duchess Marie Nikolaevna of Winia, and Marie's husband, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia, and the only younger sibling of Grand Duchess Kendrick Alexandrovich of Winia - making her a niece of Marie's two sisters: Grand Duchess Hilde Nikolaevna of Winia, and Gabriella I of Winia. In turn, she was a first-cousin of Grand Duchess Elisabeth Nikolaevna of Winia, Grand Duchess Alexa Nikolaevna of Winia, Grand Duchess Kara Nikolaevna of Winia, Grand Duchess Dove Nikolaevna of Winia, Grand Duchess Annelisa Nikolaevna of Winia, Grand Duchess Ava Nikolaevna of Winia, Grand Duchess Fawn Nikolaevna of Winia, and Alexander Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Dagmar. Through her husband, she was the sister-in-law of Lewis Carrol and the daughter-in-law of Charles Dodgson and Frances Jane "Fanny" Lutwidge. Through her daughter, Metis, she was the mother-in-law of Pierre François and the grandmother of Danica. Through her son Alexander, she was the grandmother of their twenty children. Her illegimente children: Metis, Artemis, Hera, Kassandra, Alexandra, Hecuba, Hebe, Alexander, Paris, Helen, Thetis, Doris, Doretha, Dorthey, Amphitrite, Salacia, Delphinus, Venilia, Amata, and Lavinia, as well as her trueborn children: Athena, Juturna, Canens, Circe, Perse, Hecate, Tethys, Gaia, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Diana, Calliope, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, Aoede, Melete, Mneme, Nete, Mese, Hypate, Cephisso, Apollonis, Borysthenis, Thelxinoë, Archē, Pierus, Neilṓ, Tritṓnē, Asōpṓ, Heptápora, Achelōís, Tipoplṓ, Rhodía, Ialemus, Orpheus, Rhesus, Helike, Dia, Helenus, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Alexei, Marie, Jane, Lada, Agrippina, Alina, Anastasiya, Dinara, Dominika, Feodora, Kira, Larisa, Margarita, Marina, Oksana, Raisa, Sonya, Sophie, Sasha, Sonechka, Svetlana, Taisiya, Yekaterina, Yelizaveta, Aleksandr, Anatoly, Dmitri, Dominik, Eriks, Fedyenka, Irina, Katina, Cameron, Skye, Leslie, Blair, Maisie, Rory, Jamie, Paisley, Isla, Mackenzie, Allison, Rowan, Elsie, Fiona, Finley, Lennox, Camdyn, Calum, Finlay, Glenn, Paden, Marcail, Annabel, Bonnie, Charlotte, Davonna, Belladonna, Absinthe, Ophelia, Regan, Rosemary, Samara, Morrigan, Katla, Lilith, Raven, Poe, Shadow, Onyx, Bram, Samael, Casper, Salem, Draco, Romero, Damien, Norman, Cullen, Abby, Abigail, Adelaide, Alcmene, Amity, Andrina, Angel, Angelique, Arabella, Bianca, Camille, Caroline, Clara, Colette, Michelle, Orion, Merlin, October, and Sofina - were recorded in her biography as only some of her living relatives. Through them, she was related to some of the greatest mind on planet Earth including: Lady River of Teck, Princess Medusa of Greece and Denmark, Countess Fiona of Yugoslavia, and Catelyn Domenico, Princess of Sussex and Prussia. Through her mother, she was related to Lady Anne Seymour - a member of the Stanhope family by birth - the Winian Imperial Family have been marrying their Stanhope-cousins for generations; which makes both Grace and Anne closely-related.

## Epithets and attributes

According to various sources, Grace Carroll was widely known as *Prinkípissa* ('πριγκίπισσα' "princess"), *Kυρία* (ντάμα "lady"), and *Polemistís* ('μαχητής' "warrior, combatant"). The epithet *Polias* (Πολιάς "of the city"), refers to Grace`s role as as protectress of the Lancaster Estate and the city that surrounded it (Avaria) - said to be named for one of her 11th cousins, Princess Avaria of Tidemoon (an ancient settlement located in an unspecified area of Greece underneath the ground of the Parthenon). The epithet *Klytaimnḗstra* (Κλυταιμνήστρα "famous plotter") pointed her out as the mastermind behind many schemes in the family including but not limited to: marrying her eleventh-cousin, Princess Pallas of Greece and Denmark (a daughter of King Henry VII of Greece and Denmark) to Grand Duke Lily Alexandrovich Romanov (a son of Prince Imperial Shimosa Chi-fū), securing a marriage alliance with Avalon (so that Winia would not be attacked), by marrying off several of her daughters (Pierus, Neilṓ, Tritṓnē, Asōpṓ, Heptápora to name a few), and securing the aid of their fellow Mythical Nations in the alliance itself by marrying her second-eldest illegimente daughter (Artemis) off to Prince Harry of Dagmar. One of her self-given epithets, that of the *she-wolf of House Romanov*, has marked her role in classical liteture for centuries - at a time when women were expected to behave subserviently to their husbands - Grace has shown herself to be a role model for the younger generations; actively resisting the traditional role of "mother" and a "housewife" - even rebuking her husband after he attempted to make her quit her job. However much she resisted, her role in ensuring gender equality in her own household and even beyond that - proved her worth and fearsome might as a Princess of the Winian Empire - one of the most powerful political entities of it`s day. Princess Pallas and Pallas`s brother, Oddeseyus reportably mentioned in their various diary entries, that Grace was blessed with the attributes of "kindness", "gracefulness", "a sharp wit enough to match that of any male", and "skills with various weapons"- whether these attributes were given to Grace as a child is unclear. Princess Avaria, one of her 11th-cousins once noted that Grace possessed a "cat-like gracefulness" that was supposly captured the eyes of any man or woman in her vicinity.

## Titles

* ??? – 1832-1898: *Her Imperial Highness* Princess Imperial Victoria Alice Helena Samara
* 1832-1889 – 16 November 1934: *The Right Honourable* Countess Grace of Lancaster

## Personality

From various biographies about her, she is often described as ill-tempered, and ill-inclined to receiving visitors - various eyewitnesses have recounted that she also had a habit of constantly complaining (for good reasons), as she was constantly in pain, as well as incredibly controlling over her children (in order to protect them); unlike most of her children, she never smoked or even took a sip of alcohol. She is often described as ruthless, willful, cold, ambitious, and cunning (to a fault), as well as somewhat arrogant - as she refused to apologize to one of her 11th-cousins (Sansa) after insulting her; her arrogance somewhat blinded her from seeing the whole picture at times. Her delusional mentality of "mother knows best" is considered to be one of her greatest flaws, as she cares deeply for her children but fails to recognize that they are growing up.