Flora "Fleur"

## Early Life

Flora was born amongst the lowest of the low, on the outskirts of Northern Venice and lost her mother at an early age. When father got conscripted in the army and subsequently shot in one of the countless 18th century wars , things went from bad to worse and it wouldn't be long before Flora and her siblings ended up on the streets.

It was a dangerous and violent period, and Fleur soon discovered that on the streets you either smarten up quickly, or you die. Whereas some of her brothers got pulled into crime gangs (and soon paid the price by getting shanked on in a dark alley), Fleur always managed to remain some kind of 'free agent'. She stayed away from violence, not out of principle, but because of the nature of her talents. She lied, cheated and stole her way to her daily bread and relied on cunning instead of brute force.

With this lifestyle comes a natural sense of opportunism, so when Flora got wind of a charity initiative made to 'lift underclass children from poverty' she first tricked and robbed one of the selected candidates of his invitation to participate and then went on to pass round after round of the selection proceedure. In fact, she managed to make it to the very end, partly because of her keen mind, and partly because of her ability to shamelessly cheat when necessary and/or sabotage others. Though she feared this last detail might well cost her her 'ticket' , the patron nobles did not seem to mind at all. Together with a (more intelligent and more honest) young boy, Guillermo, Fleur made the cut and was lifted from the streets to be educated and 'elevated'.

## Education

Where young Guillermo (Billy) would be humbled and overawed by this transition from poverty to wealth, Flora-who-became-Fleur had never been happier. She hated poverty and everything that came with it and vowed to make the best of this opportunity. She too joined maestro Fausius' classes (together with Billy and Chevalier Schultz) where she displayed a distinctly different profile than young Billy. Whereas the latter would move on to wizardly matters, Fleur's education would be more 'broad', encompassing the entirety of social skills, arts and culture, and even basic initiation into the Arkhane Styl. As Billy moved on to apprenticehood with professor Khilkov, Fleur went on to attend maestro Fausius' advanced classes in the subtle arts.

During this period Fleur relished in the gifts, toys, dresses and other posessions doted upon her and very much enjoyed this new lifestyle. Of all the members of the extended household, she made friends with Dido and (at that moment in time) the two other consort ladies in service of the household's salons. Because of this merry dynamic, and all the gossip such things can entail, a sister of the clergy (Soeur Innocence) was soon included in the household and Fleur's education got quite a bit more strict. Not only were religious lessons now included in her curriculum, the sister had a long list of 'behavioural rules for virtuous young ladies' that Fleur much disliked, but found herself unable to ignore.

When not attending lessons however, she much enjoyed being part of the gossip girls and started to get carried away by the erewhile dangerous path the consorts were walking. Spoiled and demanding, they started testing the patience of Louis Philippe until they went too far and all hell broke loose.

## Disruption

Whereas Louis Philippe bore down hard on her older friends, he did not include Fleur in his wrath. Apart from being 'grounded' from time to time and the occassional mandatory household chore (*"working like a maid with the maids motivates much needed humility"* - Beaucourt) , Fleur has not received any real punishment for her attitude back then. This does not mean however she wasn't moved by these events. Seeing Layla and Bagoa cast out from grace, and Dido plunged into a Darwinian hellscape, caused her to 'freeze'. Living luxury life one day, and losing it all the very next is her own worst nightmare and she's quite determined not to fall in that same trap. This means, she realized, that somehow she had to keep proving her usefulness to the household, though she's currently not quite sure what that could be.

Here's the problem, Fleur knows the trajectory she is on, she is becoming quite the educated and graceful young lady and -once graduated- should be well able to marry above her birth station, to some influential merchant or even lower noble , and in doing so, extend the Enfant's social network. The problem is, Fleur has no intention at all to attach herself to some boring rich person, make babies and sit in the same house for the rest of her life. She loves the cosmopolitan and adventurous lifestyle of the Enfant household and is currently looking for ways to keep it, even beyond her future 'debutante' period.

Currently, Fleur keeps attending Fausius' advanced classes and makes sure she keeps her grades up. She attempts to at least look like she's following Soeur Innocence restrictive behavioural set of rules, while attempting to find her place in life. Her best friend remains Dido who, undoubtedly because of Flora's poverty-stricken background and bitter childhood feels a form of affinity with her that most others lack. But whereas Dido has found her internal purpose, Fleur hasn't quite figured it out yet. Like an older sister, Dido attempts to guide Fleur to a crucial insight that yet eludes her :

*"Listen to me, kid, you keep getting it wrong. You have to let go of the street mentality. Believe me, I've been there. I know it's hard but you must understand that the household cannot be viewed as a set of individuals where it's everyone-for-themselves, but rather as a complex organisation that thrives on collaboration. As long as everyone plays their own position in the 'team' structure, the whole prospers and "everybody wins", as Louis Philippe likes to say. That's what he means when he says it. Work 'with the team' and you will find it at your side, regardless of circumstances, but turn against it, place yourself above it, and it will revenge itself like you wont believe."*

Perhaps because of her puberty, Fleur currently remains a bit too selfish to fully understand Dido's admonitions, but at least she's more careful about it now. For now, she decides to keep her head down, attend classes and solve the great puzzle ahead of her in the few years that remain between now and her 'debut' : how to extend her happy lifestyle beyond that dreaded judgement day, and find a purpose in life that is larger than that of a housewife, even if it would be a rich one.