Alexandra Kent

## Alexandra Penelope Kent

**Alexandra Kent** is a Hedge Witch operating out of Downtown Manhattan, daughter of Rupert Kent, and ex-girlfriend of Anderson Thackery. She's gifted at healing magic, with a special propensity for draining life rather than piecing it back together.

## Background

### History

*Summing up Alexandra Kent is about the same as making a cocktail.*

*2 oz daddy issues*

*2 oz white privilege (top shelf)*

*Garnish: abusive tendencies, both emotional and sexual preferred*

*Mix well, and then drop it on the floor.*

*Consume the ensuing mess with great care, because even a small dose is deadly.*

*If ever anyone ate from a silver spoon, it was this wretched piece of work. Daddy was a big shot tech guy, mostly dealing with the kind of home security that could also be mounted to a missile and used to commit war crimes. Mommy was a whole of hungry sharks, looking for any signs of weakness, any blood in the water. Between the two of them, they could move both heaven and Earth for their daughter dearest. The only difference between them was that one thought she was worth it, and the other wanted to see her worth. And if you thought this is where the daddy issues came in, you'd be pleasantly surprised. You would be, except I'm just going to tell you: her mother was a bitch.*

*From the moment she could walk, Alexandra was thrust into the gaping maw of childhood mistakes. Pageantry, modeling, acting, ballet, cheerleading, anything and everything that could show the world what she had to offer. And if she wasn't the absolute best and all of it, she'd feel her mother's wrath. Second place obviously meant she was too ugly, her acting was too stiff, or maybe she was just too fucking stupid. Her nose was too big, her stomach too fat, her arms too flabby, her voice not high enough, her makeup not pretty enough. And even if Alexandra could, by some alignment of the planets, come out on top, there was always another event to prepare for.*

*It was only when mommy was off on one of her extended business trips, that Alexandra was given any reprieve and allowed to step out of her mother's trophy case. Rupert would take her to the movies, to the finest steakhouses in the city, and then to ice cream after. He let her be who she wanted to be, or at least he did the best job a father could. He'd always loved Alexandra with everything he had. If he'd been forced to give up his entire company for her, he would have done it without a second thought. But whenever Diane came back into the picture, all of that love and strength shriveled away. As much as Rupert loved his daughter, there was nothing he could do to protect her.*

*Diane Kent, along with being a horrible example of humanity, was also quite the drinker. She'd down a few glasses of brandy after she passed through the door, her own old fashioned cure for jet lag, and then pick one of her two victims to lay into. Was it the overworked CEO husband who was busy fattening up their daughter like a prized pig for the faire, or was it the ungrateful little cunt of a daughter who never thanked her mother once for everything she'd been given? At least if it was the former, maybe Alexandra would actually have succeeded at something, shiny blue ribbon and all. After berating and sometimes even giving Alexandra a little bit of a beating to remember how good she had it, she'd send another serving of liquor down the hatch, and start in on the husband. Suffice to say, Rupert Kent stopped enjoying alcohol a long time ago. And Alexandra stopped enjoying days out with her daddy since she knew that they'd always end with the demon at the door.*

*Diane eventually scored a huge promotion and made a dramatic exit from Alexandra's life. She kept the last name, the properties, and the lifestyle, and left behind all the responsibility. Alexandra was finishing middle school by then and had already been poised to be a rebellious bitch who hated every word and breath her father spent on her. Without the extra burden of all her extracurricular bullshit, she found a life free to explore the things she wanted... and had no idea what those things were. She hadn't developed any interests of her own, stuck inside the mold her mother made for her. In some vain attempt to try and break the spell Diane had cast over their daughter over all the years of torment, Rupert played the last card he had in his hand. He placed the tools in idle hands and filled Alexandra's head with the one thing he had to offer that Diane hadn't: magic. She'd displayed a pretty obvious talent for it, but if given half the chance, old Diane would have found a way to make it all about her. This way, at least Rupert and his daughter could share this one single thing together. And for a time, that was actually enough to bring back a spark of the daddy-daughter days long dwindling.*

*One bottle (16 fl oz) of cute nerd, capable of magic.*

*Pair with the volatile mixture from above for violent hangover and excessive vomiting.*

*The moment Alexandra set her eyes on Anderson Thackery, getting the crap kicked out of him in the Dalton schoolyard for being a nerd, it was pretty obvious that things were about to change. Especially when the bullies suddenly just stopped introducing the new kid to the concept of an ass whooping, and a big old stain grew down the leader's pant legs as he absolutely pissed himself in fear. A kindred spirit had come, wandering into her life to fill all the gaping holes her shitshow mother and failure father left in their wake. With Anderson, she found another way to learn magic, and suddenly daddy's handouts weren't enough anymore. It was the final nail in that proverbial coffin, as her friendship with Anderson Thackery quickly blossomed into something more. Their first kiss was on the A train, a clumsy, awkward, sweet little rabbit hole that would start to spiral downward and out of control.*

*Rupert disapproved of his precious daughter, slumming around with gutter scum like that. He may have gone to the same school as her, might have been able to use magic, but he could see the bad influence rubbing off on his daughter. At least, that's what he thought he saw when he saw the true face of her rebellion. That wretched little orphan boy was filling her head with all sorts of bad ideas, even drove her out of his tutelage and into the arms of a Downtown Hedge. And the more he tried to tolerate the new boyfriend, the more Rupert sought a way to wrest his daughter back under his wing. There were some painful dinners, conversations that could barely bear the weight of the word, and a lot of probing questions into which specific gutter Anderson crawled out of. Day by day, Alexandra got more and more sick of his shit, until one day, she just never came home.*

 *The safehouse was her home, the four walls of Battery Park the only thing she really needed. Her and Anderson went through the ropes, learning the spells, earning the stars. When he started showing that his stars burned brighter than hers, she could see it coming like a car wreck in slow motion. Just like her mother, her father, or anyone else that crossed her path, Anderson would eventually outgrow her and kick her to curb once she wasn't convenient anymore. But this time, she was ready. She could start digging her claws in early. A little trick she learned from her mother, the ways to twist and squeeze someone into doing exactly what you wanted them to do. He started to sacrifice his own progress for the sake of her ego, his dignity for her vanity... he blew a guy in a fucking dingy bathroom just to score a spell for her to bring back to the Hedge and claim all the credit. And he did it all for her, for fear of losing her, just the way she planned it. She wouldn't let another person treat her like she wasn't worth it. She would prove her worth, just like mommy taught her.*

*So you can bet she just about lost it when after making so many sacrifices for Anderson, moving to Jersey so he can attend college, traveling to and from the Hedge constantly, and never even being able to see her boyfriend because he was always busy (you know, working to provide her money, getting an education to provide her a better future, and studying magic so that they kept contributing to the Hedge), she was going to lose Anderson anyway. He had been invited to take the Brakebills entrance exam, and passed it with flying colors. He was dropping everything to attend. He was leaving her, just like she was afraid he would. And in a panicked lapse of judgment, she made a decision that she'd almost regretted for the rest of her sorry, lonely life...*

*She never quite accepted losing him, though. Because eventually, he would realize that nobody would love him like she did. No other woman could give him what she had. Nobody else was good enough for him, not like her. He'd come around eventually, she told herself. She was the only person in his miserable existence that actually cared. She'd given everything she had for him, and one day he'd realize it and come crawling back. And she'd accept him with open arms, because that's just how things were. Alexandra loved Anderson, and nothing could change that. Nothing could keep them apart. Not even his new friends, his new confidence, and all that new, high-grade academic magic. He was still that weak little boy she met back in high school, she just had to dig down deep enough for him to realize how wrong he was for abandoning her. After all, she was worth it.*