Ealhild was born in the height of summer, with the hair and the warmth to match. Raised in Aldburg, in the Eastfold of West Rohan, her childhood was a pleasant one. Her father and mother, Hibald and Ealuthryth, acted as bloodletters and barbers for the town. Although their small home was messy, and often bustling with the traffic of their neighbors, Hilda spent her younger days in want of nothing, save for her father's affection. For, as it happens, the poverty that afflicted the Bloodletter's family was not a monetary one. Famine passed them by with a kind hand, and illness never seemed to strike, despite her parents' profession. Rather, this was a matter of morality.

It happened in Autumn. Ealhild was the ripe old age of ten summers, and her mother was heavily pregnant. They had spent the day at the market, and afterwards paid a visit to the village midwife, who congratulated Ealuthryth, and swore that this time the child would be the son that Hibald had always hoped for. Her mother glowed with the news, and as they made their way home hand in hand, Hilda realized that she had never seen her mother happier than at that moment. It didn't last, of course. Such moments seldom do--perhaps Fate fears that happiness will simply be taken for granted should it linger overly long. Hilda's mother always spoke of Fate, before that day. 
The door to their house was locked, something that they only ever did at night, when the family got ready to go to bed. Ealuthryth narrowed her eyes as she drew the house key from her apron pocket, turned the knob, and walked in, telling Hilda to remain outside. She sat, patiently, for one minute before voices were raised. Her mother's, her father's, and... a stranger's.

A woman with red hair and a half-laced gown slipping about her shoulders was ushered through the door before it shut firmly behind her. She pounded her fist on it, calling for Hibald. It took a moment, but Ealhild recognized the lady by face, if not by name--she worked in the stables, just down the road. She looked at the woman. The woman looked at her. And from within the house, she could hear her mother's crockery breaking against the wall in time with her father's promises of changing. The red-haired lady turned to leave, glancing back uncomfortably at Hilda one final time before heading away down the path. With the stranger gone, Ealhild turned her attention to the door, and slipped inside just as her mother's word "divorce" fell from the air with the heavy weight of an oath.
She wasn't sure why the fighting stopped at the sight of her. She never supposed such a detail really mattered. The night followed its proper routine in tension-filled silence: they ate dinner, they washed up. They went to bed. In the middle of the night, Hilda woke up to the sound of footsteps by the door. She slipped out of bed quietly, moving a few paces into the other room and catching her father by the sleeve as he reached for the handle of the door. He said he was going for a walk, that he'd return come morning. But the sun rose and set for eleven years, and Ealhild never saw his face again. She learnt that day a lesson that she would carry with her for the rest of her life: Men break oaths. Men leave. But most importantly, they lie.

After divorcing Hibald, Ealuthryth continued her work as barber and bloodletter, and Ealhild dedicated herself to aiding her mother in raising her younger brother, Eadfrith. Ealhild has become increasingly strict with herself over the years, and never allowed herself much thought in regards to love. She greatly values the friends that she has, although they are by no means vast in number, and is generally very protective of them. She has earned a reputation for responsibility with her elders, whilst the men of Aldburg simply know her to be cold (bordering on scathing) whenever male attention comes her way. Ever since she came of age, her mother has chided her for casting aside any possible suitors, and on occasion has gone to great lengths to set her up with people. Nevertheless, Hilda persists in her refusal. She insists that it is a lack of interest in relationships, however as Bearduwolf can attest, her feelings lie closer to the surface than she would like to admit. Unknown to much of anyone, aside her cousin Milde and the man in question, little under a year ago Ealhild had an affair with a married man, which lasted only a few months. Deeming the experience a lesson, she has "learnt" the dangers of being vulnerable with a man, once and for all. Her resolve has been hardened by her regret and guilt at softening for the entertainment of another. Wedded to solitude and ill-masked bitterness, Hilda's rejections are torn between a fear of abandonment, a desire for attention, and a bad habit of playing very hard to get. Despite her sociable nature, Ealhild can be rather rigid when it comes to recreation. She would rather work than play, and although she spends as much time in the tavern after work as any woman her age, she seems to lack the ability to relax. 

Over the past year, many things have changed for Hilda's family, and Aldburg overall. A feud broke out between the descendents of Wusfrea, and those of Grimbald, tearing open age-old wounds as though they were opened only yesterday. But the chaos of the village had one saving grace: upon the loss of her uncle Freawig and his family, her father finally returned from Beaconwatch. It took six months until her mother allowed him inside, but fear has a tendency to draw people together. Even as the threat across the village grows, and the starvation of Winter sets in, there is at last hope in Ealhild's heart that amends will be at last made within her household. Ealuthryth has grown closer to her ex-husband day by day; Seaxa has returned to their home increasingly often not to flirt but to spend time with his former father figure. Hibald has once again begun to make a name for himself in the village, and once Eadfrith discovers who his father truly is, who can say how the family will grow.

Artist Credit:
1. stephengarrett1019
2. dalisacg
3. KoenVM
4. gabbyd70
5. h1fey
6. raka-raka
7. J-Humphries