Evangelina "Eva" Margolin

Evangelina is a scullery maid for the Duke of Buckingham, and is also a local story-teller.

Appearance
Evangelina, or Eva as she tends to be called, has beautiful hair of rich honey brown. It is very long and thick, many a wig-maker making her offers upon it. Eva's hands are worn and callused from a lifetime of hard work. Her clothing is much to be desired, far too big, far too worn though and made of rough, though durable material. No one would ever mistake her for a lady of the court, especially with her tan skin, which a true lady of breeding would not be caught dead in, but working out in the sun does that to a peasant girl. She had rather exotic eyes, which hint that her mother was not originally from Britannia. They are more almond shaped, less rounded, than most women of the castle she serves. They are hazel in color, a mixture of brown and moss green. A beauty in her own right, it is more a burden for she knows that if she should ever lose her job working for the Duke of Buckingham, she would end up in a whore house and it would not matter if that was her design or some drunken knight's in the end. She does have scars on various parts of her body from punishments, none worst than the ones crisscrossing her back from where she'd once tried to run away after her mother's death.

Personality
There are two major sides of Eva. The first is the side that she is forced to show, like any good servant. She had to be obedient, biting her tongue at all times. She keeps her eyes downcast, taught never to look her betters in the face. She was taught not to speak unless spoken to when it came to her betters and even than, sometimes she remains completely silent. This is the side the nobility see as well as some of the higher servants.

What some might call the 'true' Eva, however, is quite different. Eva loves stories. She loves hearing them and telling them. Often she can be found telling tales as she cleans or at night before bed if she can steal away just a few moments, she'll put on a grand show out in the gardens that the children will come and watch from time to time. Sometimes knights will spot her and watch from a distance, having learned that she'll flee at the sight of royalty and they'll never know how her story ends.

Eva is a dreamer and she weaves these stories around her, knowing that no matter how hard she wishes, how hard she longs for it, that this was all her life would ever be, a scullery maid of noble birth, at least half of her blood, who will never find a glass slipper that fits and, who would end up a whore should she ever try to leave her family.

The secret heart of Eva, the part no one sees, holds all the truth of her birth buried deep within her, eating at her like a infection, knowing that every blow she received, every meal she had taken away, every time she had to respond that she was 'no better than to throw your boot at', that the blood that ran through her veins was the same as the lord of the castle which she served.

History
Evanagelina Margolin was the product of Leon Goldweald, Duke of Buckingham and fourth in the line for the Throne, having a rather scandalous affair with one of his maids, and Hebrew woman by the name of Amana Margolin. Wither the relationship was a willing one on Amana's part or not, Eva was never told nor did she ask. The truth was, she didn't want to know.

Eva was never claimed by her father, of course. The affair was ended upon Amana's pregnancy and she was tossed back in with the rest of the maid servants. The Margolin women were, in fact, worst off because of Leon's short attention with them. The other servants felt Amana had tried to rise above her station by sleeping with their lord and master but things were, perhaps, worst for Eva, especially after her mother's death when she was six, having been taken by a strange illness which had her hacking up blood.

They looked at her and they saw their master in her and whenever he wronged them, they seemed to wish to take it out on her. Eva was a scullery maid of the castle, the lowest of the low among the servants. She was one of the first to rise in the morning and the last to lay her head down at night.

Eva's everyday life went as follows:

She rose at five in the morning where she would wash and dress quickly, going down into the kitchens no later than half an hour after rising. She would than stroke the kitchen fires and get them ready for the cooks and to boil water for the early morning tea. Next she would collect all the chamber pots from the female servants and empty them, before scrubbing them down with a vinegar soaked rag kept only for this purpose. After this was done, she would than go and assist the other lower servants in preparing tea for the upper servants. After tea is served, she moves on to begin her morning cleaning of the kitchen passages, the pantries, the kitchen and the scullery.

When the Chef de Cuisine arrives in the Kitchen at half-past seven, Eva is always expected to curtsy and bid him "Good Morning". At a quarter to eight, she is expected to lay the table in the Servants' Hall so that they can break their fast. The food is served at a quarter to eight and she clears the table afterwords and washes the dishes.

At a quarter-past nine, she must appear in a presentable state, attired in a clean apron, for Morning prayers in the main hall. This is the only time that it is acceptable for her to be seen above stairs, and it is compulsory for all members of staff to attend.

At ten o'clock, her duties in the kitchen resume. She must wash up all dishes leftover from the Servants' Breakfast, as well as the pans and kitchen utensils used in preparing both the Servants' and Family's breakfasts. At half-past ten, she is to lay out the table in the Servant's Hall for tea. At eleven o'clock, tea is served and she is to clear the table afterwards before washing up.

Should they require it, Eva than assist the Kitchen Maid and Chef with preparations for the Servants' dinner and Family's luncheon.

Above all else, it is Eva's duty to ensure that the kitchen it kept spotless at all times and continuously wash up after both the Chef de Cuisine and the kitchen maids as they make their preparations.

At Midday, Eva takes her dinner in the kitchen with the kitchen maids so that she may wash over the family's luncheon, whilst the chef takes his dinner in the Servants' hall with the other servants.

At one o'clock, it is time for Eva to wash up after the servants' dinner and the family's luncheon. Providing her work is done, she may have one hour at her leisure between half-past two and half-past three, where she will usually sneak away into the kitchen gardens either day dreaming or telling her stories to the servants willing to listen.

At half-past three, she must return inside and lay the table for the Servants' tea, which is served at four o'clock. She clears after and begins to wash the dishes, pots and utensils used in preparation for the Family's tea.

If its required, Eva assist the kitchen maids with any food preparation for the family's dinner and servants' supper and continuously washes up any pots and pans used. After the family's dinner has been served, she cleans the kitchen passages, pantries, scullery, and kitchen before she is allowed to take her supper, usually around half-past nine.

After she finishes cleaning the dishes, until it is required of her to head to bed, she has a bit of leisure time, which she usually spends, as always, listening to telling stories with the other servants.

Eva sleeps on a mattress on the floor stuffed with hay. It is not uncommon for her to adjourn to bed and find it wet with liquid she doesn't want to think about if the master had given one of the maids a particularly hard time that day.

Eva dreams of a better life than this, an easier life. Sometimes, she dreams so hard she feels she almost makes them real, like the time she had passed the town bakery's window and was salivating over a sweet pastry she saw there and wanting it desperately. Only to find it in her hand a few moments later, quit unexplained. Or another time when she was so cold, shivering in her bed that she could hardly stand it and her bed caught fire.

Small strange things such as these have happened to her from time to time, things she could not explain. Though sometimes she imagined that she had a fairy godmother out there looking after her.

She made the mistake of voicing this once to one of the kitchen maids and now, whenever she looks a bit too haggard on the job, they mock her, laughing that she should ask her fairy godmother to come and clean the shit out of the pots for her.

Eva has never married despite her looks and age. She has no dowery and no name. Life in their world was hard enough for a woman, especially one of low birth but it was impossible for a woman with no name. Thus she would always remain a scullery maid. Some of the older kitchen maids tell her to have heart that, perhaps, one day a widower might come along and like her face and need someone to help raise his children. However, others would tell her not to hold out for even that.

All her life, Eva has waited for something grand to happen, though she is not sure just what it is she expects. She is treated like shit on the boot of the castle though she knows her father is the lord of the castle, knows his blood is her blood, and yet that seems to mean nothing.

Once when she was seven, a few months after her mother's death, Eva attempted to run away. The Duke hunted her down and brought the girl back informing her that he would never do so again. He told her of the life that waited for her out there should she try to leave the castle. A life as a whore. He told her should she ever attempt to leave again, as she was his property, he would give her to his soldiers and allow them to do with her as they pleased.

Eva never attempted to leave her life at the castle again. She just sits there, waiting, if only she knew for what.