Vethenia Paralleo

Lady Vethenia Paralleo, Baroness of Accotta (née van Nuys), nicknamed Veth, is the estranged daughter of Barro van Nuys, Baron of Marqan, and the late Lucilla van Nuys. She is also the estranged wife of Markeau Paralleo.

General Information
An only child, Vethenia grew up in Terno. Her mother died when she was still a child, and her father, while caring, was often busy with running his winery business. During her teenage years, she met Hevera Alterina and befriended her. As she grew older, people started to note her beauty, especially the artist Alastare Tevanni, who used her as the model for several of his paintings. Due to this, she became a favorite among many painters, causing her to eventually move to her father's townhouse in Marotto.

Meeting Markeau
Veth met Markeau at a party hosted by their mutual friend Ruseau Valentini. While attempting to ignore him, given the scandal it would be to interact with someone of elven lineage, she often found him in her company. Ruseau eventually caught on to this and introduced them. With Markeau attempting to make small talk, Veth realized that she wasn't strong enough to handle the disapproval of those around her, who had since begun to gossip and stare, and decidedly left.

The Painting
While attending a showing of Tevanni's paintings of her, she realized that someone was garnering a lot of attention from the other guests - Markeau. While managing to deflect him herself, he eventually found a particular painting of her; which he then proceeded to bargain for. Tevanni, claiming the painting wasn't for sale, ultimately came to a deal he couldn't refuse; 150 platinum. Without contest, Markeau took the painting home, leaving the guests shocked, and Veth furious.

Confrontation
Offended at the idea that Markeau had a painting of her, she decided to visit his house one day with the goal of getting it back. Despite clearly being full of angst upon her arrival, Markeau agreed to see her. Vethenia found herself shocked at how beautifully decorated the house was upon entering, as well as that it seemed to be full of staff. She was finally escorted into the sitting room, where her painting sat over the fireplace.

A few minutes later, Markeau arrived, nicely dressed, and offering drinks. Thrown off by everything, she attempted to regain her composure, starting with telling Markeau to give her painting back. He simply laughed her off, countering that he bought it, so legally it was his. She then attempted to make excuses to get it back, none of which Markeau accepted. Finally, upon realizing her clear anger, Markeau decided to make a deal. He would give her the painting back after she agreed to stay and have dinner with him. Wanting to refuse, he managed to convince her otherwise, stating that is was only one dinner. She reluctantly agreed.

The Dinner
While still agitated at dinner, Veth decided to make a comment about how everyone was surprised that Markeau bought her painting for so much. He chuckled before stating that she seems all too worried about what others think, and then finally admitted that he didn't just buy the painting because he wanted everyone to know that he could, but because he thought it, and in turn, Vethenia, was beautiful; much to her shock. He continued to tell her about where he came from at her behest - that it was a small town on the other side of the mountain, where he made his money through "cut-throat trading", and that he moved to Marotto, having heard that it's beautiful but also ripe with opportunity.

Admittedly, after having an actual conversation, Markeau proved to be nothing like what Vethenia expected; not that she knew what to expect of him. By the time they had finished dessert, she had actually caught herself smiling while in his company, and that she seemed to be drawn in by his golden eyes. Having kept her side of the deal, upon finishing dessert, Markeau had his servants remove the painting from his mantlepiece, offering to have them carry it home for Veth, should she need them too. While not speaking, she nodded.

He escorted her to the door before taking and kissing her hand in farewell. As she left, she found herself turning back to look at him, where he stood smiling.

The Letter
A week later, she still found herself thinking about Markeau, and their dinner together. She tried to find other things to occupy her mind, even going so far as to accept a date with another man, of which, she could only note how boring his eyes were; a typical hazel. Upon returning home, she chose to write a letter to Markeau - an invitation to dinner as an apology for how she acted. Flustered, she re-wrote the letter six times, only to still be unhappy with the final result. The following day, she received not just a response but a gift. He agreed to dinner; as long as she would wear the dress he sent. She wrote to him once more, having agreed to his terms, and the date was set.

A Pleasurable Night
Following dinner, which went spectacularly, an inebriated Vethenia invited Markeau to stay the night, confessing that she couldn't stop thinking about him. He then asked if he'd be staying in the guest room, to which she simply said: "no", before pulling him to her room, where they proceeded to have sex. The next day, upon returning home, Markeau found the painting of Veth back on his mantlepiece.

A Shunned Marriage
After weeks of casually sleeping together, Markeau would ultimately ask Vethenia to marry him. Shocked, she hesitated to reply. Realizing that she had hurt him with her lack of response, she claimed that it wasn't him, but the rest of the world. She was terrified of how the world would react to their marriage. He managed to convince her all the same, promising that they'd take on the world together. The two were married by the end of the week. Her social standing was all but destroyed in the process, but the love she felt from Markeau more than made up for it to her.

A Dull Marriage
However, despite her best efforts, the passion that had originally filled Veth's marriage would be all but gone after the first four months. Markeau just wasn't the same. While she attempted to keep things alive, she felt as if he was always pulling away, leaving for nights on end, and at times, felt like she didn't even know him. Even so, she strived to keep her marriage from falling apart, going so far at one point to even allow a nude painting of herself to be done; for spontaneity.

A Dead Marriage
But nearly a year in, the desire to save her marriage was all but dead, as Veth began to slowly despise Markeau. Due to the lack of sex they were having, she could only assume that he was sleeping around, a theory proven true, upon catching him with her handmaid, Amelie. Unshocked, she ultimately decided to leave Chailea.

Markeau didn't attempt to find her, despite her failure to return, finally learning through gossip that she had decided to become the mistress of some foreign noble.