P E R D I T A D E H A V I L L A N D
( p r i m a b a l l e r i n a )
exposed décolletage waiting to be bruised, a corset pulled to the point of breathlessness, fairytales with a grisly end, pale ornate ceilings, gilt chairs with frayed cushions, a basket full of inedible mushrooms, cold cheeks with pink spots, marble statues with carved veils, the draft through an open window, a child in lipstick, swans on the morning lake, a knife hanging from the ceiling, raw and calloused feet, a small cluster of stars in a blank sky, a fox snared by a jagged fence, straining muscles, canopy beds, honey slow-falling from a spoon, tulle skirts, lingering perfume in an empty room, ice baths, bills left on the bedside table, white-heat from a spotlight, the indent of teethmarks on skin, flowers in an elaborate updo, chilled white wine, a perfect fouette, wooden slats painted to look like an enchanted forest, lying in pink silk on someone else’s bed, blood in pointe shoes, an extended hand with no one reaching back, lovely girls lined in a perfect row, a poisoned apple.
age: twenty-nine
nicknames: dita, dot
sexuality: heterosexual
gender: cisgender female
title: lady
UNDER THE CUT : HISTORY & TRIVIA !
ya girl back at it again
this time with WAY MORE DRAMA… and a lot more extra
in a tl;dr version of the de havilland family history, some king of genovia way back in the day gave a marquis title to one of his buds - as kings are ought to do. for a time they flourished while they were in favour, but it was brief compared to how they faded over time until they were left a half step away from Nothing
quick cut to now: they have a huge, beautiful-but-extremely-run-down house, no actual money, and 0 prestige. so literally, the title is just a prefix at this point and nothing else
i like to envision perdita’s mother as a mix of mother gothel, mrs bennet, and the evil stepmother -- so it should be no surprise that in her youth, she pursued princess ariadne renaldi’s husband despite their recent marriage
they had a brief affair which resulted in her pregnancy with perdita, which was in the plan. what was not was him then ending the tryst and insisting she leave the genovian court and return to her family home. she has 4 more daughters, each but the last 2 from different fathers in her chasing of nobility
her desire for Money Power Glory was pushed onto her 5 daughters. despite the shambles of their home and growing debt, she continually found ways to finance them in an effort to restore their family to its former status. they’re given homeschooling in the “art” of courtly life, preservation of beauty, and most importantly how to attract a man. they’re dressed up to look far older than their age and know things should not
dita was drawn to ballet organically, but it was only approved as an extracurricular of hers because her mother felt she could shoehorn this into an avenue for her to receive male attention. which did, work -- because performances were often attended by aristocracy, she would meet and have varying relationships with these attendees or nobility. nearly always at the push of her mother. i’m also not gonna get into it but i’ll say it’s... waned dangerous close to being pay for play
was given the title of prima ballerina close to five years ago! she’s now 29 and will inevitably only have a handful of years left pushing her body in the extreme way she does before retirement. there is a delicate balance between perdita feeling it has been her choice to pursue something she loves vs. feeling it was the ministrations of her mom
in terms of her status as mignonette’s sister, she is an ill-kept secret to the locals of the genovian court. because her mother is... many things, not least among them big-mouthed, most everyone is aware she’s an illegitimate child
it ceased being a scandal looong ago; in her childhood when there was a chance she would be a threat to the throne (at least insomuch as the peace surrounding it, not necessarily that she would vie to be legitimized), there was hesitancy and tension when she was brought to the palace. she had little to no communication with any of the royal family until she was promoted to prima, at which point the unease had settled
was her naming a deliberate reference to shakespeare’s perdita, and would her mother love for her to somehow become legitimized for the throne? absolutely.
will she take a royal marriage as substitute? surely and without complaining. sugar daddy? fine. as long as she’s bringing in something
especially seeing as she’s closing in to thirty -- an age her mother sees as retirement from ballet and viability for marriage -- there’s been increasing stress and hysteria over her most profitable daughter running out of time. mignonette’s courting was a blessing for the de havilland matriarch as it was exposure to an array of foreign monarchs
dita is a soft girl, and filled with a great deal of sadness over the things she’s done and is meant to do - still she’s hopeful and kind, curious and bubbling. but the effects of her upbringing are there too -- the ability to lie and manipulate, the (mis)conception that her worth is her looks (and subsequently how tightly she clings to her status as prima ballerina --a solid thing that proves there is something else about her worth admiring), the love-and-run mantra, the willingness to let her body be used and be charming despite it
ok this is terrible but i cant keep rewriting it so i guess this is done now pls love her
TRIVIA !
was known as “dot” as a kid because she was so teeny and adorable
rumoured to be the mistress of a visiting prince
has a v sensitive scalp due to years of her mother bleaching her hair improperly at home
definitely has a thing for older men. we call that symptomatic of daddy issues
her relationship with her eldest sister is wrought with tension, trauma and the carnage of competition laid out by their mother -- perdita has done better than her socially, and for that she’ll never be forgiven
winter ball
balcony off the main ballroom
perdita with isaiah
there’s a story about the king of gods swallowing his children, and perdita thinks it’s all wrong. in her experience with fathers - which is none - they have no reason to put their kin down their throat. it’s mothers that do the carrying in their belly to begin with. it’s them that would keep them inside until they can reach the hammer to break out. that’s dita’s experience with mothers.
there are hundreds of people in the genovian palace’s ballroom, and for all the sidelong looks and verbal tokens of appreciation dita receives, what she hears is her mama asking why she hasn’t been taken aside yet. she sees dafne from a far, beautiful, tender dafne that had seemingly caught a prince with hands alone. she hadn’t even had to use all the other body parts.
she goes outside despite the winter cold. dita can feel the exhaustion creeping in on her, the drain of pushing light to the the place right below her skin, so she gives the appearance of shine, and she needs a moment of quiet. the night through the gilt-panelled glass french doors is too dark to see anything beyond, but she hopes its snowing. she would love to stand in the snow.
when she steps outside and closes the door behind her, she finds it is -- and with it is the tall cut of a man and the smoke that spills out of him. she takes to the opposite corner of the balcony to concede to his partial ownership of the formerly solitary and consolatory space, turning her head after she’s reached it to give him a smile of acknowledgement, but instead she leads with recognition. her brows twitch at the inner corners.
SCENARIO: when you are very young, you meet a boy. he is two years older than you, an equidistant age between him and the older brother (the one you spend tender years wishing for). he will be: tall, dark-haired, fast and silent enough to run from the dark and press your sides to make you scream, and get his first black eye fighting on the lawn of a party you are at. your mother despises him and his father will never like you. this is to be your best friend. you will love him.
knowing what you do, chose what is most likely to occur in the length of this story. you have thirty seconds to make your choice.
( A ) — a wedding. EG. “if we do it,” one of you says, and it doesn’t matter which. that’s not the important part of this story. when you recount it back years later, both will have a different idea of who started it. “they can’t make us marry one of those rich people when we grow up. we can be friends forever.” you make rings out of twine and waxy yellow buttercups, not knowing they are technically weeds, and slide them on each other’s fingers at the same time in silence next to a mossy stump because that’s what children imagine solemn ceremony is. they are broken when you go home hand in hand to proclaim this immature rebellion to your parents, and its slapped out of you.
( B ) — revolt & uprising. EG. he is below you making a basket of his body, and when you drop from the window in practiced fashion he catches you in it, shushing your giggle as he sets you on your feet. you fly down the gravel path and into dark, unafraid. he crows from atop a log like an outgrown peter pan and you laugh, dancing in the starlight. it’s never spoken aloud why the pair of you are drawn to forests, but it’s understood nonetheless: nature has no kings.
( C ) — fighting. EG. you stand with her hair tied back and feet bare, white dress blowing out towards him in the wind like the hands clenched at your side won’t. “dot, please -” the moon is out above and you look ready to haunt these woods. the look of rage and loss is already there. he has his hands outstretched palm-up, the way one approaches an animal that is wild or has run away from home. “you promised. you promised you wouldn’t leave.”
( D ) — kissing. EG. he’s at the airport, and you’re driven out in the rickety car of a farmer who doesn’t mind doing favours. he’s about to leave for longer than he’ll ever tell you and you throw yourself on him after running a great distance, the same way you will when he comes back. he catches you and — We’re sorry. There’s been an error in our system. Selection D is meant to read PARTING. Please omit.
( D ) — aching. EG. you are alone in the bed of a man too old for you with no clothes on, laying on your stomach. there is a bruise on the back of your shoulder that you don’t understand, and as you press into it a tear runs down your cheek. you don’t realize it’s for him at first, but eventually you will.
