Queen Alys Seraphin

Princess Alys Howard Seraphin
Born in the Liston Palace in 1008 to King Edwin Howard and Queen Lys of Anhuinox, Alys was the firstborn child of them both and destined to be the only daughter. She later married, after several betrothals, King Aldrin Seraphin, and was crowned Queen Consort of Sundaril in September, 1030. The couple currently has one child, Isabel, born in May of 1031.

Early Life
Born in 1008 in the relatively new Liston Palace, Alys was almost immediately given to governesses and nurses for most of her early life. It was expected, from all around her, that she would one day be a noble queen or at least the wife of a high noble in Liston. Because of this and her constant on-off betrothal to the Crown Prince of Sundaril, Alys was tutored in languages, etiquette, reading, writing, literature, history, and politics from an early age.

Under her tutors, the princess of Liston excelled magnificently, prompting those around her to praise her as a "Liston Rose", a name that would later be adapted when she came to Sundaril and was called the "Liston Lass." Considered charmingly beautiful even as a small child, and precocious, Alys still had traces of a wild side that were unleashed during her instructions in dance. However, her father quickly quelled all nonsense of wildness from his daughter after she threw a tantrum and hurled a porcelain doll across the room. Seeing it as unseemly and unladylike behavior in one so young, Edwin harshly reprimanded his daughter and told her the consequences for actions similar to the porcelain doll incident. Being so young, Alys conformed to her father's wishes, frightened of the consequences spoken of and understanding that she needed to adapt to survive.

When the princess was three years old, she was joined by a sibling, Edgar, who was born as Crown Prince of Liston and given all the honor and duty surrounding all that the title entailed. The Crown Prince and his sister were hardly close, possibly because of the difference in status between them despite both being of noble birth. Add to that the fact that they had different tutors and Edgar's early death, and the result is two siblings that never quite revolved in the same social circles. Indeed, the same was almost to transpire when her next brother, Edward, was born two years after Edgar.

However, Queen Lys, Alys's mother and beloved of her children, passed away during Edward's birth. The death of her mother did not truly affect Alys the way it would have an older woman. If Alys had been ten instead of five when her mother had died, it is no doubt that the effects of the death would have been seen throughout her lifetime. However, Alys was too young to truly understand what had happened and simply learned to adapt again. Instead, the princess focused any emotions tied with her mother that were so aburptly severed with her nurses and maids. Indeed, because her mother was gone and because the princess understood it was from a hard birth, she turned her anger and resentment out onto Edward.

Adolescence and Life at Court
Upon her full embrace of court life at Liston upon the age of thirteen, Alys had been through more than most children her age. She had had three or four betrothals canceled, rekindled, and then canceled again, all concerning the Crown Prince Aldrin of Sundaril, and had also lost her mother. Her father was utterly distant to her, hardly speaking to her unless absolutely necessary. What interaction she did have with him was limited to whatever his duties could allow and so the relationship between the two was neither warm nor long-lasting.

During this time, Alys gained more confidence in herself and in the world around her, even asking to be taught how to ride. This question was eventually given an affirmative on the basis that she had to be constantly accompanied. She agreed and her rides were usually met with Edward's own. Eventually, their relationship grew from this to become a bond between brother and sister that would be the stuff of legends.

Some time later, Edgar, the Crown Prince, died, and the shifts in power came again to Liston Palace, this time swiping up Edward and placing him as the heir to the throne. As Edgar and Alys had not been close, indeed, Edgar was described as a quiet, reserved boy and hardly talked to anyone much, Alys's reaction to the death was not that of a woman wretched and weeping for loss circumstances. Instead, Alys's reaction to her brother's death was quiet, introspective, and out of it arose a true woman grown, now having acquired a more mature air about her.

During this time, Alys's betrothals to Aldrin were on and off still and, at one point, Edwin even considering marrying her to Liston's sworn enemy, Farengalia. Sheer luck prevented it and during this time, Alys also gained a slight fascination with a courtier in her father's court: Baron Robert Seymour of Corly. Though the relationship never amounted to anything of scandalous nature, this was probably the first time in recorded history that the princess had felt anything more than sisterly affection to any member of her father's court that was not just simply her brother.

Finally, when Alys was twenty years old, Edwin solidified the idea of a double alliance with Sundaril.

The Double Alliance and Alys's Betrothal
In 1029 C.E., Edwin had solidified the idea of a double alliance with Sundaril. The idea was that Edward, only fourteen at the time, would marry the much older Princess Ophelia of Sundaril while Alys herself married Aldrin, who was now king of Sundaril. The betrothal idea was relayed to Sundaril which, after heavy consideration, Aldrin decided that, in the fall of 1030, a trip would be planned where Alys would visit Sundaril while Ophelia traveled to Liston. Circumstances arose, instead, that forced Alys to visit Sundaril in towards the middle of summer.

The circumstances aforementioned involved the idea of Alys being "inspected" for the purpose of marriage. Placed on a table, a physician was sent in to inspect whether or not Alys was still a virgin and thus suitable for the marriage tie to Sundaril. The inspection was never actually concluded as the princess left promptly once she was able to. Upon such actions being taken against her person, she further decided to go to Sundaril herself earlier than ever intended. It was to the great shock and surprise of the court when the Princess of Liston showed up in Sundri's harbor dressed beautifully and accompanied by only one lady in waiting. Nevertheless, the king was waiting for her there with all of his family and full regalia and accompanied her back to the palace.

The attraction between the two was nearly tangible upon her arrival. After a short meeting in the historically scandalous Diamond Room, Aldrin and Alys seemed to part with a better understanding of each other as well as a deeper attraction. Within no time, the two were dancing, laughing, and flirting as if they were old friends rather than new found potential mates. In truth, it was incredibly probably that they did feel like old friends. Their betrothal towards one another had been on and off for most of each other's lives, provided throughout with letters of affection, presents, and portraits of one another. Indeed, it has been noted that there are possibly more portraits of Aldrin as Crown Prince (and one as king) than there are of Alys as a young princess due to the fact of their exchanging portraits so often during each new betrothal and each new year.

The tension between the two was notable until, finally, it broke. Upon the night of a masquerade held in the honor of Alys, Aldrin and she, after a short dance, sneaked into the halls where they preceded to kiss and embrace in a scandalous manner. No doubt filled with lust, Aldrin was sent, by Alys, to fetch a priest and thus they were secretly married that night. The secret marriage was controversial and offended most subjects of the kingdom who felt that the king might have slept with the princess and then lied about actually marrying her. However, all controversy was laid aside when Alys and Aldrin were officially married in September and then, on the same day, Alys was coronated as Queen Consort of Sundaril.

That very night, the queen was declared pregnant with the king's first child.