Faye Parrish

## Reagan Hope Parrish

**Faye Parrish** is the deuteragonist of Sisters of the Thorn, the first book in the Tales From Birchwood Vale series. She is the younger sister of Linnea Parrish.

## Biography

### Early Life

Faye Parrish grew up in a trailer park on the outskirts of Birchwood Vale, WA, with her older sister of two years, Linnea. Although her given name is Reagan, her sister Linnea had difficulty pronouncing the letter R as a young child and could only say Faye instead of Rae. The nickname stuck, and Faye has treated it as her true legal name ever since.

Her mother was abusive, physically beating her as a child. Faye's left hand was broken severely when her mother smashed it with a cast iron pan after Faye "failed to wash the dishes properly". Her father took her to the emergency room, and when they returned, he walked out the door and never came back. Faye was six years old. She still has limited mobility in her left hand from that incident.

### Running Away From Home

During the summer that Faye turned 16, her mother died under what authorities called "mysterious circumstances". She was found with her head caved, allegedly smashing it on a rock after falling out of a tree. The death was ruled accidental. After her mother's death, Faye ran away from Birchwood Vale and hitchhiked across the country. She dropped out of high school and found work as a tattoo artist, using her innate artistic talents to make a meager living. In her free time, she learned to play several musical instruments, including the theremin.

### Return to Birchwood

Faye returned to Birchwood Vale just before turning 17 upon hearing from her sister that she was going through a depression after a break-up and wanted her close by. Faye had kept close with Linnea, calling her every single day and talking for an hour or more. She had no intentions of ever returning to the Vale, but she could not leave her sister alone. It was during this time that Faye reconnected with some old classmates from Birchwood High, including Emily Williams. Faye joined a jam session and it was here that the first Familiar demo was recorded.

Faye lived with Linnea for the remainder of that year. It appeared that Linnea was happier. Faye said that she was happier outside the Vale, and that the two of them should move away. Linnea entertained the idea while job hunting, but instead of finding a job, she found a boyfriend, Ben Wilson, and moved in with him. Faye stayed in the Vale for a few months until she was sure everything was okay with her sister, and moved back east.

### Death of Her Sister, Second Return to Birchwood

On March 20th, less than three months before Faye's 18th birthday, Faye called her sister but there was no answer. This was highly unusual. She called 9 more times and had not received an answer. Soon after, Faye's phone rang from an unknown number. It was the police in Birchwood Vale informing her that her sister had died.

Faye was devastated. She flew back to Washington that same night, crying the whole way there, not wanting to believe it was true. When she arrived at the Birchwood Vale Police Station, she learned that her worst nightmare had come true - Linnea was indeed dead, and police believe it to be suicide. Faye rejected their explanation, saying that Linnea would never do that and if she had a problem, they would always talk it over. She would never just go and do something like that without telling her sister.

Fay refused to leave Birchwood Vale until she learned the truth about her sister's death. Ben was just as shocked as Faye was, and she didn't believe he was the type to do something like commit murder. Someone else had to be involved. Faye conducted her own investigation which turned up no new information.

At a complete loss and desperate to know the truth, Faye went to the site of Linnea's death to conduct a ceremony. She had learned about witchcraft from her old friend Emily Williams, and had practiced it herself here and there, but she was no expert. Nevertheless, she went with Ben and his friend Walt Keller (who thought Faye was out of her mind and could do something crazy, like hurt herself or them).

### Third Return to Birchwood

Faye returned to Birchwood Vale after service her prison sentence and a brief stint in a psychiatric hospital. It remains unknown if she was released or escaped. She now works as a barista in the Tudor Book Shop and Cafe in downtown Birchwood, and has thoughts about opening her own tattoo studio in town, if there is enough interest.

## Notes and Trivia

* First came out to her sister Linnea at age 15.
* Did most of her own tattoos herself.
* Gave Lorelei Chapel her first tattoo.
* High school dropout. Never finished (or even started) her senior year.
* Played the triangle and theremin on Familiar's demo, credited as Belladonna The Witch.
* Lorelei Chapel wanted Faye to play the theremin on tour for Familiar's EP, Pressing Flowers, when their current theremin player was having her first child, but Faye could not be reached because she was serving a two year prison sentence on charges of reckless burning in the first degree.
* Her favorite food is peanut butter.