Colette Pine
Age
18
Gender
Female | She/Her
Sexuality
Unsure
(being sheltered her whole life hasn't given her many oppurtunities - or time - to figure herself out. but especially oppurtunities)
Role
Princess of Pallave / Heir
Kingdom
Pallave
Occupation
Princess
Reputation
Generally held in a positive light since she tries her best to be polite and considerate in her daily interactions. However, she also tries to hide so much and carries herself so stiffly, that people have only a vague idea of who their Princess is. This has given her a small air of mystery and thus unwanted intrigue.
Appearance
Now, at first sight, you might be tricked into thinking Colette fits the Princess role perfectly. She hates to admit it herself (vanity is a sin!) but she has really grown into quite the beautiful young woman.
She stands at 5'7, her height almost solely credited to her long legs. Her slender form is usually clothed in brilliant blues and shimmering gold, though the occasional color swap to a blazing crimson or rich violet is always welcome. She has a fondness for jewelry and a borderline obsessive attachment to her white gloves, seldom glimpsed without them and her earrings on. These gloves are her small and frankly ineffective attempt at drawing attention away from herself - surely if she puts gloves on, that'll make her somewhat invisible to the crowd.
However, nothing can hide that hair. Both a blessing and a curse, her incredibly dense, wavy raven hair reaches down to her lower back, but would easily reach her thighs if she wasn't so intent on trimming it. It cascades over her shoulders and frames her face almost like a lion's mane, absolutely impossible to ignore and definitely turning heads. She has a love hate relationship with this hair, adoring it when she's alone and able to admire it, hating it when she's brushing it or having to repeat the same few stock phrases when someone compliments it. Usually she tries to tie at least some of it back from her face, lest she look like an untamed beast (mother's words, not hers).
Perhaps the only give-away that Colette is not walled into the castle at all times, despite the image she tries to desperately sell to her family, is her healthy rich tan skin and the obscene amount of freckles that cover it. There is not one part of her that isn't freckled, but her shoulders and cheeks get the brunt of it, and her hands of course get the least of it. She's very asinine about her skincare and makes sure that her skin is glowing and blemish free. If she's going to play the part of caged bird, she's at least going to find a hobby.
Colette has slightly downturned blazing hazel eyes framed by thick long lashes. Her eyes often carry a bored look, but it's very easy to catch a flare of her temper or a sparkle of glee in them with how they stand out. Her brows are rather thick, another point of contention for her as she's always trying to pluck them into a "respectably" thick shape instead of the woolly caterpillars of their true nature.
When it comes to her face itself, it can be described as having a heart shape with a bit of a circular curve to it as well, as nothing about her features are very sharp or defined. Her nose has a graceful but prominent bump, giving her side-profile a very regal appearance. Her lips are plump and sometimes coated with an almost unholy amount of lipgloss (she is still learning the proper amount to apply), naturally a deeper brown color but usually covered by red lipstick. Overall, she has more softer and gentle facial features, save for the sharpness those eyes can very easily convey.
Her body itself is healthy and in shape. Slender and not incredibly curvy, Colette has a small bust, a narrow waist, and slightly wider hips than she thinks she ought to have. She has a pear-shaped build, which came as somewhat of a shock to her since she used to be very gangly and crane-like in appearance during her early teen years. Her reflection gives her the impression that she'd be rather short considering her proportions... until she looks at her legs, and remembers she's built not unlike the birds that come to fish by the sea.
Personality
Polite | Confused | Quietly Resentful | Adventurous | Introverted | Occasionally Assertive | Secretive | Restless
Princess Colette is not what comes to mind when you think Princess, not when it comes down to personality.
Not that she's tomboy-ish - maybe in a sneaky way she is, but she'd never let her mask slip. She isn't all too fiery either, preferring to rebel by stewing and scheming. She's just not, at least according to her, as confident or as alluring as a princess should be. She isn't suited for the future matron, she thinks. She isn't suited for this awful place at all.
Colette is quiet and reserved, a bit awkward but otherwise overly polite and tries to be considerate. She carries herself stifly, moving like one of the castle statues come to life. The most movement from her is when she's fussing with that horrendous amount of hair on her head, or fiddling with her earrings, or scratching her arm for the umpteenth time, but beyond that she barely moves at all. When it comes to palace balls, she's finding a place to weld her heels to the floor. When she's out and about, she's hiding in the carriage and pretending her hair needs to be fixed, or her gloves need to be readjusted, anything to avoid the prying eyes of the people outside. Hell, even in the company of siblings she's a bit awkward. They're all so grown, she thinks. She's so focused on her own out-of-place feeling that she doesn't know if they feel the same as she does about this royal responsibility, but she thinks they've all adjusted rather well.
This freeze only takes place when there are other eyes around, however. Colette leads a double life around her own castle, getting up to her own mischief that seldom, if ever includes any accomplices. If she has even an ounce of free time, she's slinking around where she shouldn't be, eavesdropping on her brothers or the maids, exploring forgotten corridores, crawling up towers where she was previously barricaded from so she can feed the crows on the windowsills. Or she's leaving the castle itself and running off to her beloved horse, a palimino stallion named Goldenrod. He's witnessed all of her hidden hijinks and she can trust that he'd never tattle on her... he couldn't if he wanted to, but she doubts he'd want to. She spoils him so much that he'd be obese if she didn't run away with him so often.
Colette rarely shares anything, really. None of her adventures are spoken of. She does not bother opening up. It's only partially because she's trying to avoid getting chastised - the whole truth is that she carries a quiet resentment for everything, and frankly she doesn't think anyone around her deserves to know her. Her parents are marrying her off, using her as a political pawn, and she simply feels out of place among her brothers (though she knows this isn't really their fault, but... well, it's still a bit odd to be the youngest daughter, and feel like you're the only one who has nothing figured out). She's never really had a chance to make friends besides the options presented to her. When it comes to social skills, Colette does only what's expected of her and is careful to step on no toes, but although she asserts herself in a positive way, she's not very good at building a bond worth keeping. She'd rather do small things to try to win back her freedom and self government, and she'd much prefer to not share it with anyone who might disagree and get her cage sized down some more.
However, despite how careful she is to keep other people content, Colette is not a push-over when it comes to it. If she's really, really displeased with you, or finds what you said abhorrent, she will speak her mind. She does it in a proffessional manner, of course, but.. she loves her backhanded compliments and condenscending quips. Little unprofessional things mixed in with her usual (attempt at) mature way of dealing with things. She'd hate to act out like a spoiled brat though, so she chooses her arguments wisely and holds her tongue if she deems it not worth it.
Colette has many little hobbies to keep herself occupied. Not all of them include acting like she's on some top secret mission and pretending to be a vagabond. She's actually rather fond of skincare and hair styling, and for once abuses her rank in society only to get her hands on more salves and creams. It gives her something to work on while she's stuck in her chambers.
Strengths
Assertiveness
When push comes to shove, Colette is not afraid to hold her ground and speak her mind. She tries to do it with grace and confidence. Suitors should be wary of coming off too bold, lest she have enough and decide to chew them out - she will not just stand there and take it.
Stealthy + Silent
She's very sneaky and secretive for a Princess. Colette is an excellent secret keeper and is very good at twisting the narrative to keep herself safe. She knows the castle like the back of her hand, no corridor and closet left unexplored, no secret room left uncovered.
Diplomatic
...and slightly scheming. The Pallave Urge. Though she lacks skills to build genuine interpersonal bonds easily, she's still fairly good at keeping up positive relations, even if she's a tad awkward at times. Just because she's a bit stiff doesn't mean she doesn't know the right words to say. And she knows people don't really view her as a threat, so they tend to let their guard and suspicion down around her.
Weaknesses
Immature / Unprepared
Despite her rank, Colette is still fairly young and therefor fairly inexperienced. A life spent studying and training to fill a role of nobility has left her skilled in that field specifically, but some of her other life skills and experiences have been stunted because of it.
Temper
Sometimes, when standing up for her own beliefs, Colette's temper can get the best of her. She tries to keep it smothered but there are times when it escapes her regardless and she winds up being genuinely rude, which is very out of character for the polite and patient persona she tries to project.
Trust Issues
Honestly she has no idea where these began, but they've clearly been around for awhile if she feels the need to be so sneaky and never tell a story straight. Colette has a hard time trusting people's intentions, especially her fellow nobles. Part of it was definitely caused by feeling like no more than a pawn and figurehead.
Affiliations
King Robert Pine and Queen Harper Pine: Parents. She has mixed feelings about them and a good amount of resentment.
Elder Brothers: Will be seperated once they are named. Generally views them in a more positive light, but still feels out of place among them due to feeling so.. unprepared and very much not ready.
Open (also i feel like i may be missing something)
Other
i have admittedly not written a medieval royal in like. 3-4 years so this is probably Extremely Rusty and will probably be adjusted at least once in the near future. the goal was to make her typical stewing young adult who's trying to fill a role she's not quite prepared for but i'm not sure if i presented it that well yet 💔