Lily Background
From Ars Magica
Throughout time, the earls and lords of Shropshire have always striven for an end to the civil disputes between England and Wales, usually, by force. Lord Leighton followed in the steps of his predecessors, seeking peace at the edge of a sword. While relentless on the battlefield, Leighton was quite gentle in his own home. He spoiled all his children, but he doted particularly upon his youngest daughter, Lily. When she was to learn how to weave, but took a dislike to it, Leighton allowed his daughter instead to turn to other pursuits, enrolling her at a private school run by Jerbiton. It was while studying Latin there that Lily met her childhood friend, Melisende. Though he was ever ignorant of the magical nature of the tutors, Leighton was rewarded by the smiles on his bright young daughter's face. He continued to dote upon her... until she began to fancy herself deeply in love with a classmate: Cadwgawn, a Welsh nobleman of Llangollen. He immediately married Lily off to Henry d'Avignon, Lord of Stretton.
Henry was no worse than any arranged husband; in fact, he was indulgent and gentle with his young bride. He allowed her to continue studies at her private school, and even allowed her to attend him while hunting. An obedient daughter and dutiful wife, Lily never appeared to be anything but pleased with her match. Indeed, had her heart not been claimed by the young Welshman, she might have been as happy with Henry in truth as she appeared to be. Despite her best efforts, however, Cadwgawn was not forgotten. Perhaps if Henry had been less enamored of his young bride, he might not have seen the life of the young boy as such an affront to his honour; alas, he challenged the boy to a duel. The quick guile of youth was no match for the experienced battle-hardened veteran, and the boy met his end at Henry's hand. Lily never shed a tear (so far as Henry saw), and the couple continued to live in peace and happiness for a few short months.
No one knows who burnt down Henry's hunting lodge. It is assumed to have been some friend or relative of Cadwgawn's, who did not know the couple well enough to be aware that Lily frequently accompanied her husband on his hunting expeditions. Henry was found in the foyer of the small lodge, with a severe head wound which he'd seemingly sustained before the fire broke out. Lily's body was found in the bedroom; it seemed she had been sleeping when the fire woke her, but it was too late to escape at that point.
Their bodies were carried to the monastery at Church Stretton, where their bodies were cleaned and prepared for burial. As Father Xavier performed the last rites over Lily's body, however, the clergy of Church Stretton witnessed a miracle. The burns melted away, and the corpse shuddered as Lily took a deep, ragged gasp for air. The bishop himself declared that the hand of God had sheltered his precious lamb. Lily returned to Stokesay as its lady, and has been overseeing the management of her late husband's affairs ever since.
The young widow is plagued with suitors who have no real interest in her other than wealth and title. As a result, Lily quickly learned to delegate responsibilities, appointing good, loyal subjects to look after her interests, and proceeded to spend as much time away from home as possible. She spent time travelling and seeing Europe. While it pained her to leave the Jerbiton school, her newfound relationship with the church made it a simple matter to secure a private tutor. Despite her love of books and studies, Lily discovered her true passion through mundane means: swordplay. The d'Avignon master-at-arms set aside his own opinions on the matter to train her, as the threat of another assassination attempt ever looms in his mind. He had Lily's own bedroom fortified with arrow loops, and taught her how to shoot a bow. Her room bears an arms rack, with a bow specially crafted for her, a small selection of weapons, armor crafted to fit her, and a shield. Master Edward teaches Lily conservatively, with focus on endurance and defense. He expects her to be able to fend off an attacker long enough for soldiers to arrive, not to overcome an enemy on her own. She practices at archery, aiming at quail and ducks; she has a strong sense of satisfaction and self-reliance whenever eating a meal she's hunted herself. Swordplay and archery give her an outlet for frustrations and emotions she never shows.
It is an odd tale, how the childhood friendship between Lily and Melisende was rekindled. A magus once attempted to use Mentem magic to coerce Lily into signing a document declaring him her husband and rightful heir. One of Lily's ladies-in-waiting, Bronwyn, noticed something very strange about the man, and about Lily's behavior. Bronwyn broke a bottle of wine over the man's head before quill could touch parchment, and snatched the paper away. The thing the gentlewoman had seen about the forceful suitor, she recognized as being the same thing she saw about Lily's private school teacher-- not the monk, but the one from before. At Bronwyn's suggestion, Lily presented the document to her teacher. The Jerbiton mage quickly assessed what had passed, and reported the incident to the proper Hermetic authorities. When Honorius came to investigate the incident, Lily was delighted to find that he was accompanied by none other than her old friend Melisende (though she was known by a new name, now).
When Lily learned that Mnemosyne was seeking land to build a covenant, she offered building rights upon some land which was causing a great deal of trouble to the commonfolk, hoping that a mutually beneficial arrangement might work well for all. The extent of those rights remain to be ironed out, however.
