Alyona I, Baroness of Verskaya
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Alyona Rhetta Sviatovna Godunov of House Godunov was the firstborn child and eldest daughter of Sviatoslav Jaroslavich Godunov, former Lord Marshal of the BSK and Baron of Verskaya, and Manon Yvaine de Leuven (formerly de Falstaff).
Infanthood
Born on the 13th of Malin’s Welcome, 1903 in the Hospital of St. Amyas, Alyona as the firstborn shared her introduction to the world with her triplet siblings Aelita Tamara and Anatoliy Altair. She was confirmed later in the day as the Barony of Verskaya’s heir-apparent and distinguished out of the three for her darker hair and bulging, brown eyes.
Sviatoslav’s previous marriage had conceived a son and heir, Vasily, who early on in his infanthood had passed alongside the baron’s brother [1]. He showed much hesitation to involve himself in Alyona’s early childhood, though whether that was due to the unfortunate circumstances years prior is down to speculation. It was with this that both her parents often fought between themselves - Manon pressing on Sviatoslav for his lack of engagement, and Sviatoslav for Manon’s parenting methods. The eldest Godunov child was often a witness to their spats and heavily engaged in figuring out whether their love was real, despite her mother denying there wasn't any issues and her father using brutal honesty towards her. Seeking answers, Alyona with her close friend Malcolm Gant received a card reading at the Karosgrad tavern one evening. The Oracle, after the little girl had asked whether her parents would ever love each other again, replied:
"Oh! Does nie look loike it. One loves t'e other, but t'e other does nay. T'ey are niet compatible. Their are toxic."
Upon hearing her worst fear materialised, Alyona fled the tavern completely distraught.
A Young, Political Mind
The lack of Sviatoslav's engagement in the young girl's life had led Alyona to seek approval wherever she could - even if it meant beginning a rebellious streak. Befriending the likes of Malcolm and Lorena Gant, Taillte Baruch, Raudraik Loudain and many more children, the heiress grew to become sharp-tongued, confident and opinionated. On a particular day where a summons to a private court occurred, Alyona, Malcolm and Raudraik found themselves bored and wishing to oversee the proceedings. They took it upom themselves to lie to the guards on duty by calling themselves key witnesses to the trial, which allowed them to enter. That was until Armsman Audo Weiss and Milonar of Whitehall told Raudraik he had to leave. Alyona, sticking up for her friend, said to the guards that they should be allowed to stay as they wished to learn from the experience and also her father was Lord Marshal. Not buying the excuses, the three of them were made to exit. This enraged Alyona, and in retaliation she wrote her first missive on the matter which was directed towards the King of Haense. [2]. Her public outrage towards the trial left an imprint on Haenseti citizens - children and adults alike - and produced a response from the King Georg I himself. The justiciars responsible for the court were to be held account for their actions at the next Duma by Lord Regent of Valwyck and Royal Inquisitor Otto Gant [3], which encouraged Alyona to seek justice for all children no matter their social class. After the whole ordeal, the noble girl fell in deep admiration with King Georg, deeming him icon-worthy.
Her interest in the politics of the Kingdom did not stop there. Having attended the Duma as her father's only representative of House Godunov a year later, Alyona was given a rude awakening from one Lady Justiciar, Adele Ludovar.
