Julia Groves |
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Background
Born to Mikael and Elyse Frey, Julia was the second born to her elder brother Nicoli by a matter of mere minutes. Twins, though destined for vastly different futures, were considered a good omen in the Frey family and both children were welcomed with open arms by their parents, and the family that surrounded them. Clever, inquisitive, creative in a disruptive fashion and doted upon by their tutors and maids, the children were inseparable from birth and were often interchangeable when it came to blame casting and punishment being meted out. Nicoli would be sent as Page at the appropriate age while Julia sent as ward to a family friend to see her education and social connections appropriately set.
Wed to this .. gruff spoken, long haired, hard drinking, back woods ruffian was not exactly the match that Lady Julia had hoped for. Truth be told she took one look at her betrothed and nearly refused to enter the room where the man waited, the contracts already signed, to be introduced for the first time. Oil and water? Nay, rather.. open flame to a barrel of naptha is a more apt description. Epic fights? Blessed gods, what an understatement. Yet.. there is something to be said about adversity forging a path through flame and trial that cannot so easily be found in a more idyllic manner.
If asked, Lady Julia would say that it is Ser Harper that 'settled in' to married life, learning to moderate his voice, to think a few precious moments before speaking, to rebuild his reputation as a man of honor, of nobility, of ability for more than drinking his companions under the table. That she learned to listen in equal measures, learned that bending was not the same thing as breaking, or that working together instead of against each other would prove far more valuable (and profitable) in the long run is merely just one aspect of the requirements of a Lady married to a man such as Ser Harper. That he never strayed his eyes from her, or she from him, made their married life rather remarkably quiet. That they found a way to become - grudgingly - friends, partners, then of all things actual companions to each other is just the stuff of idle romance ballads. When their family was joined by first a son and then daughter of their own their family, as far as Julia was concerned, was complete. It wasn't a matter of Heir and Spare, it was a matter of Family. After all, the only thing more important than profit to a Merchant house is the ties that bind: Family.
The Invasion of the Ironborn barbarians sent her husband and much of her family off to war, and she - like the other ladies of her family - to doing what she could to help. To pass the time, to endure the long hours of the night, praying to the Gods that her husband would return home instead of cast to the Seven into the next life. Since the war they have kept a low profile, raising their young children, seldom hosting social events or attending the larger gatherings. They have, after all, a family to raise. A wife, a mother, a dutiful daughter, she is considered a woman whose temperament is mild, whose mind is keen, and possesses a disarming knack for bargaining down to the last skinny clipped coin to ensure that the deal is fair.