Description
Eva is petite, standing just over five feet tall. The dark brown wavy hair falling framing her face offsets her green eyes. Eva used to always wear her hair down in an attempt to hide a hideous scar running down the left side of her face, from the corner of her eye to her jaw, however since being captured and then freed again, she has less concern about it. When speaking with people, she faces them only with her right side to keep the attention away from her scar, a habit she gained while on the run.
Typically shy, Eva's eyes are normally averted, but should one get the opportunity, they would find buried deep within an unbearable sadness out of proportion with her 25 years. Recently, they sparkle with a glimmer of hope.... or they had, but the hope had been smashed away.
Eva wears a simple silver amulet with a purplish blue stone. She is intensely protective of it and avoids answering any questions about it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46817147@N07/4412988688/ Her body is covered with scars, varying in size and severity. The majority of her clothing covers the majority of these scars - something Eva is deeply self conscious of.
Personality
After being on the run for a long time, taken into custody, thrown into slavery, released, and then taken into slavery again, Eva is very suspicious of strangers. She can seem very aloof and detached, but is actually spending a lot of time paying attention to others and eavesdropping. She has become very guarded and is constantly looking over her shoulder. Being covered in scars, she is extremely self conscious about them. Eva does not like to touch other people, with the exception of her beloved Alrion, and absolutely cannot stand to be touched by others.
After more than three months in the Underdark as a slave and pet to the drow Brizriia, Eva lost her mind. She believed her love, Alrion, to be dead, and gave up, resigned to her fate.
Eva is a Lazaro, which means she is inhabited by a powerful sorceress, Lazaria. Eva calls her "The Other" and will occasionally refer to her in conversation. Also, Lazaria will take over Eva's body occasionally, usually while performing some act of sorcery. Her powers are slowly being transferred to Eva so that Eva might continue her work.
She loves red wine and has a tendency to overindulge.
Equipment
Eva had lost all of her possessions upon her capture by the Guard. Since her release, she has started to accumulate items again... or had, until she was captured by the drow...
She carries a sharp knife in a holster on her belt.
She carries a worn leather pack that she stole from Thaddeus. In it she carries various items including a tattered journal, a few pens.
History
Daughter of a jewelcrafter and a sorceress, Eva grew up familiar with the finer things in life. Her father, Evan, had been commissioned to craft all of the royal jewelery and both of her parents were called in to work on special secret projects. As such, Eva was familiar to the royal family and to the elite police force known as The Guard. While her parents worked, Eva made herself a pain at the blacksmith's shop, eventually befriending the apprentice, Silas. He and Eva would sneak out into the forest and he would teach her to swordfight.
Seven years ago, however, when Eva was 18, she and Silas had been practicing out in the forest just as on any other day. The sounds of clanging metal and laughter drowned out the sounds of approaching footsteps just as it had drawn them to the teens. Without warning, Eva and Silas were surrounded by 14 members of The Guard led by Thaddeus, the king's brother. Silas, always noble, attempted to bravely extricate the two from their predicament, but Thaddeus and his friends had murder in their minds, and decided that Eva was a treat much too delicious looking to be passed by any longer. They had seen her around the village, and decided to take what they wanted before accomplishing their mission. Silas bravely fought to protect Eva's honor, and to his credit, managed to slay three of the guards, but was quickly subdued and killed as the rest of the group advanced on Eva. Without thinking, she picked up a sword and attempted to take out as many as she could before being overpowered. When it was over, Eva had killed five of the Guard. The remaining six spent hours torturing her, having their way with her, cutting into her flesh to watch her bleed, calling her by name and forcing her to beg for death. When all was said and done, Eva was inches from death, and she stared into the lifeless eyes of Silas as Thaddeus and his men left her to the wolves.
But despite all of her begging, she was not to die. Her brother, Rathos, had heard her screams. He managed to get her back to their home where her mother, Sonja, attempted to heal her wounds. Despite her gift, it took months to heal the extensive damage done to Eva. While she could have repaired the scars covering the majority of Eva’s body, she left them, telling Eva that they would give her courage. She was never the same. Her body was riddled with scars, her nights haunted by memories. Her nightmares, like her scars, never left her, however, and she would wake up screaming nightly for years. Sonja and her husband Evan conspired together to create special amulets for their children. Eva was told to promise that she would never remove the amulet, and she kept her promise.
Four years ago, Eva ventured into town on an errand. Despite her care at covering herself, she was seen and recognized by a member of the Guard - one who had been part of the group left alive. He ran to tell Thaddeus who decided that Eva was to disappear. Eva returned home, unaware of the men following her. She was captured, but somehow managed to slaughter the men who held her, before watching helplessly as her family was murdered in retaliation - her mother, father, sister Anna, and baby brother Jocham. As the Guard was about to kill Rathos, he screamed for Eva to run and kept the villains busy while she disappeared into the woods. She stayed there for three days, hidden, until she could take it no longer. She returned home and buried her family. She was unable to locate the amulets worn by her siblings – identical to hers except only for the stones. She packed a few necessities and a few valuables into a pack and ran, attempting to outrun the Guard while simultaneously attempting to locate her siblings’ amulets.
Despite her determination to never stay in one place for long, she eventually found her way to Gambit’s. For the first time since Silas was murdered, she was able to call another person ‘friend.’ But Thaddeus found her, and his men captured her. While fighting to escape capture and the subsequent incarceration, she killed a few more men, but was overpowered. Taken back to the kingdom, she was brought up for sentencing for her crimes. The King, at Thaddeus’ assistance, sentenced Eva to life as a pleasure slave to the Guard. She was fitted with irremovable slave bands, and bound to Thaddeus. Thanks to a collaborative effort, Thaddeus had been captured and power over Eva had been transferred to Drakus Flavaar, brother of Alrion. Eva admitted her love to Alrion, partially prompted by Drakus. She developed a wavering friendship with Drakus.
Attempting to assist Alrion in seeking god-hood, Eva fought against her inner fear of losing him while trying to help him acquire the objects needed to ascend. Upon his ascension, the goddess made him a demi-god. Eva was overjoyed to have him stay with her. She felt a pull to go back to her family's home, to find her parents' notes on their enchanted jewelry, in an attempt to find a way to remove the slave bands. Instead, she dug up the truth about the Lazaria. This disturbed her greatly.
The slave bands were eventually removed by the LDA at the prompting of Special Agent Marlene Angel. The procedure involved Eva being heavily drugged while the bands were removed so she wouldn't feel the pain. Unfortunately, she could still feel it, but couldn't say anything about it. She retreated into her mind and The Other gained more ability to control her.
After having found the other amulets, Eva was taken as a pet and slave to the drow Brizriia. Forced into the Underdark for a minimum of two and a half months, Eva originally contacted Alrion through the amulet around his neck... but she closed the connection one day and hadn't heard anything since. Assuming him to be dead, she became resigned to her fate, slowly sinking deep into insanity. The only light in her world were the dreams she had about Alrion, about a house with endless green fields, dotted with horses, two children running around... arm in arm with her Love... a reality that she thought would never happen.
In the Underdark, Eva and Lazaria came to rely on each other, forming a bond. Eva would have given up completely in the Underdark if she hadn't discovered she was pregnant with Alrion's child. Given a new reason to live, she prayed to one day be able to escape, which she eventually did. As soon as she climbed into the light, however, her body miscarried the child. She was, however reunited with Alrion, and slowly began to come out of the psychosis brought about by the events, even moving in with Alrion.
... and then she found out about the other women.
It broke her. She gave Alrion an ultimatum, but he refused to choose, so she chose for him, deciding that happiness for her would simply always be only a myth... Deciding that she could not spend the rest of her life feeling inadequate... knowing that the one she loved would never give himself fully to her. She met a new friend who offered to wipe her memories. Eva agreed, wanting to forget everything that had happened since she entered Gambits for the first time.
So begins...
Eva blinked at the monitor in the closet. Had he really gotten that paranoid? "I don't think I'd let you," she admitted. "I don't think I want someone seeing what I do all the time." That would be bad. She was sure of it. She didn't want Alrion to see what she did when no one was looking.
"I've been perfecting certain recipes," she defended. "Yes, baking cookies... but... other things too." She debated what to tell him. "Potions... you know, the same stuff I've been doing for a while. Sparring. Target shooting." She shrugged. "Nothing... really interesting."
Eva grinned mischiveously to Alrion. "Have you seen much interesting stuff? Any dirt on the others?" She returned to his side and put her hand on his shoulder. "Your secret is safe with me. Very safe. You know that."
Eva let herself into her room which was quite chaotic. Bottles of various liquids cluttered every surface. Drying herbs and other plants hung from the ceiling. She stood just inside the door thinking to herself that she really should get a bigger place... one with a real kitchen so she didn't have to keep using the one in the bar. Alrion's reaction to the cookies made her smile and she picked up a bottle of some putrid green stuff, considering it. What if...? No. Just No.
Turning, Eva frowned. She wasn't expecting anyone. Perhaps Alrion had followed her home. The idea made her grin and she turned to the door, the bottle still clutched in her hand. "Can't get enough of me, eh?" She would greet as she opened the door with a broad smile, only for the smile to fade and the words to die on her lips as she realized it wasn't him.
Immediately on guard, Eva stiffened. "Ezrael... did you follow me?" Her brows knitted and she clutched the bottle of green liquid tightly. "I... I wasn't expecting company." She turned to look around the chaotically cluttered room. "I'm not certain it is such a good idea to invite you in."
Eva frowned, stepping back to let Ezrael in before closing the door. She attempted to keep herself between him and the bottles, highly protective of her experiments. The news that Ezrael didn't know about her bothered her. Hadn't Alrion spoken of her at all? Didn't she mean anything to him? She'd heard of Ezrael, Drakus' son. She'd known about him. Deciding to push it from her mind, she lifted one shoulder in a non-commital shrug. "What's to tell?" she asked. Oh, it bothered her... and it bothered her that it bothered her.
Eva's guard was still up, especially considering the secret Alrion had shared with her. "I haven't seen him in quite a while," she admitted, which was true. "He used to paint. Perhaps that is what he is doing."
That unintentional lowering of his guard struck Eva and she looked at him curiously for a moment. "I think it would be a good opening for the two of you to get to know each other. It might be good for both of you." She smiled then, turning to a box on the bureau. "Did you want another cookie? These are the same batch I gave to your uncle, so they're safe."
Realizing the mistake in her speech, Eva smoothly attempted to divert his attention from the fact that some of her cookies might be more dangerous than others. "I'm not the best baker," she admitted, and she wasn't. "I burn things pretty easily. Or I don't cook them completely. I'm actually rather dismal at baking. These turned out pretty decent, though." She helped herself to a cookie and smiled as she bit into it, a memory of riding with Alrion on a spring day coming to the forefront of her mind. She looked at the cookie and smiled. "You know... I did pretty good on these."
Eva raised an eyebrow before gesturing to a chair in the corner of the room. It was the one thing that wasn't covered with something. Even her bed had discarded clothing heaped on one side. She really had to get a bigger place. "Please, have a seat. What do you mean, the full story?"
Eva took a seat on the edge of the bed, facing Ezrael. Now that the ice was broken, she was a little more comfortable around him, but still had her guard up. "What will sound silly?"
Eva looked down to the floor as she thought about this. Yes. Drakus had a son, she remembered Alrion telling her, and it hadn't been long enough ago for him to be THIS grown up, so that made sense. Yes. That made sense. But one word caught her attention. "Evil?" She leaned back and crossed her arms, regarding Ezrael. "What makes you evil? Also... how did this happen?"
Eva tilted her head, watching Ezrael, listening. It didn't surprise her that Drakus' son was corrupted (no pun intended). Alrion had always been the better brother. Drakus had always been questionable in motive. Alrion was always good... misguided, but good. "I don't not like you," she offered. "I don't know you well, but you seem alright to me so far." She smiled warmly. "You like my cookies. That says something." She laughed and shook her head. "I will not consider you evil unless you do something that labels you thus to me. For now, you are Ezrael."
Eva nodded at his words. "I understand that. I have my secrets. I evade the truth. I hide my feelings. I do all of that. I can understand why you would not like it. There is much about me that your uncle does not know. I will keep it that way. It makes life more interesting to have your own secrets."
She smiled and stood. "Would you like some cookies for the road?"
Eva wanted to talk with Alrion about his nephew. She hadn’t been able to fully relax since he’d left her room. The idea that somebody might be monitoring her every move worried her. She’d taken to shutting the lights off in her room and working by candlelight, figuring that if she was being monitored by hidden cameras or something, it would be more difficult to see what she was doing. She’d taken to dressing in the dark. She looked over her shoulder constantly. She hadn’t been doing her target practice or her training for a while. Approaching Alrion, she glanced nervously over her shoulder again, eying the pit. “Hi,” she greeted.
She stepped in for the hug and closed her eyes, relishing the moment. She liked the way he smelled and stood for a moment simply inhaling him as she hugged him. “Honestly, I’m tired. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since I left here last.” She was hesitant to bring up the reason. Obviously, Alrion was already paranoid enough. She didn’t need to be bringing unnecessary strain into the already strained relationship between Alrion and Ezrael. “How are things with you?” She gestured over toward the pit. “Dare I ask?”
She didn’t want to bring up Ezrael without first testing the waters. Brushing off his question about her sleeping, she turned to look at him. “I spoke with Ezrael. He didn’t know you were an artist. He seemed really interested in whether you might teach him.”
Eva looked over toward the burning pit as she thought about Alrion’s response. “Where is his mother? What happened to her?” She bit her lip and turned back to Alrion. “Would it be so bad to spend a little time with him? Give him something he’s not getting elsewhere? I mean, you are family, you know?”
Eva frowned, actually feeling sorry for Ezrael. A mother that was off doing whatever she was doing, a father who didn’t express interest, an uncle who intentionally kept his distance. “Everybody deserves to have someone care about them, right?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Maybe she’d make that effort. Surely Ezrael could use a friend. Eva could try. Maybe his threat had been empty. Maybe it was a product of all he’d been taught. Waving her hand dismissively, she sighed. “It’s okay, I understand. It just worried me, that’s all. He seemed very interested in you.”
Eva nodded. Yes. They needed to speak of something else. She leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. But she had just one more question to ask. “If he was your son, would things be different? Would you teach him how to paint?” Okay, two more.
