Alice no Mandrake

Alice is the daughter of Étienne de Nocturne, a nobleman from a fairly minor house in Kusheth. When moving to the city of Elua in the prime of his life, he found, as many from his province, that he took great delight in the courtesans from House Valerian. One, a passionately subserviant young woman by the name of Estelle, managed to win his heart, and they married soon after. Estelle became pregnant with Alice a year later, but she herself died in childbirth. Étienne, heartbroken, did not find it in him to love the child that he blamed for his wife's death. Alice was given to be raised by her mother's House, while Étienne wasted away what remained of his estate on drink and opium, dying a few years later.

Alice grew up happily enough under the tutelage of Valerian, at first seeming destined to remain in that House until her debut. But as she started to grow into a young woman, her father's blood manifested itself in a fiery temperament--too fiery, it was decided, and her marque ended up being transferred to Mandrake. She took to the new canon like a fish to water, eventually earning a sizeable patron gift on the night of her debut. There are some jokes on Mont Nuit about her conflicting Kusheline and Valerian heritage. She usually laughs these off, though she can get defensive when someone seems to imply she is unfit to serve her current House. She certainly seems prosperous enough for a Servant of Naamah, suggesting she can well wield the tender cruelties of her canon. She also has a bit of a wild reputation, said to be always up for a party or other extravagance.

Alice fairly recently completed her marque. There had been some rumor that she was going to marry some rich nobleman besotted with her beauty, or planning to leave the city to become an independent Courtesan in the provinces. Such talk was laid to rest, however, as she began to take on additional duties within House Mandrake, seemingly happy and determined to stay within the House as a full courtesan.