Bryony

the king of winter

Name: Bryony Christophe Ghislain

First Name Meaning: Greek, “climbing plant”

Maker / Sculpt: Doll Chateau Erwin

Date of Arrival: November 18, 2014

Nationality: English

Age: 31

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Flaxen

Flower: Foxglove, insincerity

Gemstone: Kunzite, calm

Animal: Fox, sly, cunning

Major Arcana card: The Hanged Man, sacrifice

Loves: Typewriters, paper, ink, courtyards, gardens, sandwiches.

Background: Bryony meets Josette when they are both working in the household of a wealthy family. Bryony is the patriarch’s secretary, while Josette is the governess of the children in the household. Bryony, of English descent, is fairly middle-class. However, years ago, he promised marriage to an aristocratic young woman, Blanchefleur, in accordance with his parents’ wishes. The marriage has been postponed for some time due to Blanche’s health status as an invalid and Bryony’s shortage of funds. In the meantime, Bryony meets and falls in love with Josette, and in the household of their employment, they begin an affair.

During this time, Bryony encounters an old friend, Josian, and makes the connection that Josette is Josian’s long-lost twin, for whom Josian has been searching since the death of their father. Josian is quick to take control of Josette’s fate and decides that her association with Bryony must end immediately. Josian knows what Josette does not: that Bryony is engaged. However, in his autocratic way, Josian gives no explanation for cutting off communication with Bryony, resulting in Josette’s extended heartache.

It is not till years later that Bryony is welcomed back into Josian’s home, though his visits do not coincide with the now-married Josette’s. Having been in a struggling marriage with Blanchefleur for many years, Bryony encounters Glynnis, Josian’s niece and ward, who falls in love with him. Though Bryony feels desire for Glynnis, he eludes her, for the most part, his relationship with Josian now on the mend.

Bryony is reincarnated into present-day Europe as Christophe, an underground musician who commutes between Munich and the French countryside to spend time with his grandmother, who raised him. One day, on public transportation, he encounters a distraught young man, who keeps murmuring the name “Josette,” and crying. The name resonates very deeply with Christophe. Instead of staying on the train until he reaches his grandmother’s house, he stops at the same town as the young man, then walks on foot, guided by some strange instinct, to a shadowed chateau surrounded with a high gate and lush vegetation. He can’t get the name “Josette” out of his mind, and it continues to haunt him for years.

Finally, in the United States, Bryony crosses paths again with Leslie Walker, the young man, and the mysterious Josette. This time, there is nothing to prevent their love.

2014

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