Orchid Dreams

//characters

Megan

Full name: Megan Tasselberry-Thatcher
Birthday:29th November, 3013
Culture: Breefolk
Desc: This young woman is not unlike many others in Bree, but to most meeting her, her face would be memorable. Wide, almond-shaped brown eyes peer out, often cheeky and mischievous though at other times thoughtful and reflective, sometimes even cold and uncaring. Her face is lightly dotted with freckles along her cheeks, and this gives her a somewhat childish look though she would be about 20 or 21, this and the fact that she's somewhat shorter than the average Breefolk.

A rather simple dress-simple in material and cut; yet it is elegant, fits over her body now and is a pleasant blue in colour falling to her ankles. In this dress, Megan looks more of a woman than the young teen that she could be mistaken for. On her feet she wears simple leather sandals or small boots and occasionally she has a rust-red coloured wool cloak over her shoulders, depending on the state of the weather. It being winter now, gloves and scarf of the same hue adorn her body, to keep out the cold.

Her hair consists of wild curls which tumble down her back, brown in colour, and utterly untamable. Often she carries with her a satchel or basket, sometimes both, containing all the things that may come in handy in her day-to-day Bree life, or all the things she deems important enough to be carrying around..

History:

Megan was born the second youngest of five children to Rebecca and James, and apart from the oldest (Anna), was the only girl. The two brothers (Jacob and Adrian) above her were aged only a year and a half older, and twins, and her younger brother (James) fell ill and didn't live past the age of five.
Rebecca and James have an interesting history in themselves, and one that could contribute to their eventual personality traits and how these got passed along to Megan. Rebecca was born into a family of little wealth, and there she and her 3 brothers shared a home with her Aunt Mary, and her two children Marian and David. So it was that Rebecca grew up being the only female in the Bakewell family (As was her maiden name before she met and married James, who bore the much less reputable Tasselberry name...), and, as Marian was much older than she, and was soon married and moved to Archet, it was left to Rebecca to learn how to cook and clean, and this she did enthusiastically, her teachers being her mother and aunt were stern, but they were well-learned in being women. Rebecca rarely experienced fun as soon as she hit her teenage years, and was taught to be conservative and sensible, rather than outgoing and foolish. So it was that Rebecca came to the first real decision in her life as she neared her 16th birthday... should she become a weaver and a dressmaker, or stay with the family tradition of baking? She was, afterall, a Bakewell... Long was she torn between her passion- dressmaking, and what she was born to do (and much enjoyed! But her heart longed for the needle and thread...).. and then finally, she made a compromise: She would become a Baker, but would knit and sew when she wasn't working and provide good clothes for her family- when the time came.
And come it did. At 19 years of age, she met James Tasselberry, who, at 21 himself, hadn't yet finished growing into his body and was still rather gangly, and clumsy, and on their first meeting, Rebecca didn't fancy him at all. Of course, we know this is because James is much too easy-going to Rebecca's tastes, and this can be attributed to his upbringing also.
James Tasselberry was born into a family as the last of the children to Jacob and Miriam Tasselberry, with an older sister, brother and then another sister (with only one year between the two), he took on his role as younger sibling. His parents, however, unlike Rebecca's were not conservative, nor concerned primarily with that was sensible (especially for their younger son, for he was certainly more of a joke than something serious, and they focused much of their attention on Zachary. This suited James fine, as he and his sister Juliana were left mostly to their own devices. Despite this apparent neglect, there was much love shared throughout the Tasselberry house, and even when they fell on hard times, they didn't despair (though this could explain Jame's horror when food goes to waste...) but made the most of everything. James was renound for playing pranks on his friends and family while he was growing up, and had a knack for brightening people up just because of his energy. Although somewhat lost as to what to do when he was grown up, he trained himself to hunt (after having explored the woods for 16 years with Juliana), though he wasn't particularly good, he could catch rabbits and deer occasionally. This wasn't his calling, and so he went on doing odd-jobs and becoming a jack-of-all-trades before finally planting a small vegetable garden outside his house, and discovering his green-thumbedness. It may seem surprising that he hadn't know of his knack for gardening earlier, but you must keep in mind that while the rest of his family were disovering themselves, he and Juliana were discovering the woods! Juliana had more luck in chosing her profession, and went on to become a messenger.
So, returning to the story of James and Rebecca's first enounters! Yes, it was a blustr'y winters day and she had finished working for the afternoon and now exited the bakery, covered in flour and dough and looking rather a mess. Along came James, and he laughed at her state (of course), and teased her about having a run-in with the loaves of bread as she was kneading them.. Deep down though, he had already fallen in love with her.. Rebecca of course, didn't know how to react to this- a young gangle man; all arms and legs, curly hair tousled about his head and falling in his eyes, 3 days growth on his chin and rain falling from his head and off his shoulders. Rebecca was speechless, and so simply walked away quickly- leaving the dishevled man alone in the rain. Of course, he intreuged her now, and for a long time she thought about him and the things he had said, trying to decide if she hated him or not. He, too, was trying to track her down and finally when they met up again, Rebecca was much cleaner, and James had taken a hair-cut. Although awkward for a time, James' charm shone through, and as soon as he made Rebecca laugh for the first time, he had won her over.
So began their life together, and soon they would be blessed with the first of their children; Anna. Anna was the apple of Rebecca's eye (and always will be) and Rebecca begun to bring up the first of her female children in the way that any mother should- teaching her from a young age of cooking and cleaning.
Three years later, and after a long and painful labour, the Tasselberries recieved Jacob and Adrian (Jacob named after James' father, obviously, for he was the first twin to be born). Much did Rebecca love the twins, though they were much energetic and like their father, and so James took stead of them, while Rebecca again focused on Anna. Then Megan was born, and from the word go she was a menace- pulling out her brothers' hair and blaming it on the other brother by crawling away before her parents arrived.. stealing biscuits and cakes from the cupboards while her parents were seeing to the twins.. this isn't to say that she didn't recieve her fair-share of hair pulling, but being younger, and being a girl, her parents were much more sympathetic and understanding to her than they were to her brothers.
Another three years passed, and James was born, and he was not healthy, but weakly and frail. Always he fell sick, and he couldn't withstand the punishment laid upon him by Jacob, Adrian and Megan. James and Rebecca tried all they knew of herbal remidies, and even asked the strangers passing through Bree what they could do to help (which was very little), though, as James turned three, it looked as though perhaps he would recover and live on a normal life. Alas, at age five the winter was harsh, and no longer could James' body support him in life and so he passed away, and sent his parents spiraling into confusion and loss.
Being only eight at the time of her youngest brother's death, Megan didn't fully understand what was happening, and so quickly took her place as youngest sibling. Spurred on by the twins, she was constantly getting herself into trouble; climbing too high, teasing dogs, stealing vegetables, the three of them creating new and more daring and disobedient things to do as they got older. This set her mother's nerves on end. Working as a baker at the time, she attempted to teach her daughter to cook and clean and do house-wife things, trying to transform her more into her big sister than the terrible twins. Now having mourned the loss of her youngest son, Rebecca sought to fill that hole by focusing her attentions on Megan.
Each of the siblings had their own special talents when it came to trouble making- Jacob, the oldest of the twins, who has a thoughtful, reserved look about him planned the things they would go out and do; from getting away from home, carrying out the plan and getting away scot free... Adrian would carry out the plan- be the leader amidst the trouble, never hesitating and being the most mischevious of them all. Megan had one of the most important jobs- she would get them /out/ of trouble, and it was during these childhood years that she developed her skill. If they ever got caught, she'd have a story for them in an instant, if there ever was evidence against them, she'd take the spot light- bursting into tears if needed and always the kind hearts of her accusers would melt to the poor weeping girl before them.. Of course, there were those who /knew/ they weren't innocent but with such a good performance, and everyone else believing her, there was nothing they could do to argue.
Although Megan did learn how to cook (and this would prove valuable in later life), she didn't at all fancy it, and so would sneak out to meet up with her brothers (and occasionally Tigerlily Banks, while she still lived in Bree) and they would go torment some cows or chickens while her mother fretted about her back home. Nothing has been said for Megan's father, however although in his personality we can also see where Megan got many of her traits. Like his offspring, he had a rebellious gleam in his eye and often encouraged them to go out and have fun while they were younger for in his youth, he had been much like they were now. His departure to set up a farm in Combe could also account for one of the reasons that led Megan's mother to her eventual action.
On one occasion, when the twins had dragged their younger sister out to a local paddock and began to chase some cows, they got more than they bargained for as the cows turned on them and knocked them down. They spent some days at the Healer's House and this caused their mother to snap, her usually calm, motherly demeanour (not unlike the one which Megan herself sometimes adopts) vanished into a wide-eyed rage as she packed up their house and, with their father's help, moved to Combe.
It's said, or perhaps speculated by any who would care to think on such things, that something terrible must have happened to young Megan during her time in Combe, for it was certainly here that she took on her current personality traits and the sudden mood changes which are so common to the Bree-girl. Although, unknown what exactly this thing may have been (and she will never speak on it), it has caused Megan to need to find a way to hide herself- to never give herself away or be open or truthful. Suggested recently by Andrick that they moved to Combe, Megan swore that she would never move back there- something frightens her about living there, and it's not just the boredom. Maybe one day she'll find herself again, when she realises she no longer knows who she truly is...
Megan spent two years here, meeting the locals and learning different skills that would come to help her when, at the age of sixteen and a half, she left her family, to live in Bree Proper. Most people in the town would still remember the Tasselberry Twins- Jacob and Adrian, even if they didn't know she had been a part of the havoc, though the connection can often be made when she introduces herself. Now settled into life in Bree again, she's finding ways to cause mischief quietly, now returned from the Shire and married to Andrick Thatcher (thus making her Tasselberry-Thatcher, actually) it's said they're both plotting Bree's downfall (??!!) together. Even more recently she has been accepted into the ranks of Healer, and is now learning the tricks of the trade- already having helped out a few people! She is taking to her new role with maturity and pride.. Speaking of pride; she's also the proud new owner of a genuine Northern-Eagle feather, making her an Eagle-Friend but, she's not aloud to talk about that.

Graphics created from scratch using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, personal photographs and some brushes created by nice people. If you wish to know which brushes I used specifically, feel free to send a nice e-mail my way.

---> Layout obtained from Appassionato