Name: Dorothy Helms

 

Nickname(s): Dotty (most common) and Dor

Age: 21

 

Date of birth: December 30

 

Place of birth: Port Legan

Current place of living: Mistress Bertha’s Room & Board, Lower Corus

Status/occupation: Commoner, seamstress

Appearance: Dotty has curly/wavy, dark brown, thick hair that reaches down to her elbows just barely. Normally she wears it down, not enjoying the headache she receives if she wears it up all day. Her slate blue eyes are a bit droopy making her look a bit tired most of the time if she does not make the effort to smile. Dotty is one of those people whose cheek bones are there when she smiles, but rather smoothed out and hardly even curved when she doesn’t.  Her nose is in proportion with her face on the top, but the part that attaches to her upper lip is a bit short. This affects her mouth and therefore she hardly ever closes it. This also has her room mates suffering from snoring. She has a well proportioned figure, a little more weight then she should (about 10 pounds) but because of her body type it goes to the proper places so she doesn’t look very bad. Dotty is around 5’9” tall. Her feet are a lengthy size and get in the way sometimes. Her hands are long, slender, and as dainty as hands can be after getting stuck by needles many times. Her skin tone comes and goes with the sun, though her nose sunburn easily. Her shoulders did once, but they were burned at one time and now have what look like darker than normal freckles as scars there.

 

Clothes: Skirts. Dotty loves skirts. Most of hers are very worn from when she left her home three years ago. Coupled with her skirts are usually shirts of the same sort of faded colors and vests. She wears not so sensible town shoes. These are her designs meant to copy those of the wealthy while still saving money. Though the stitching is very well done, the soles are lumpy from her amateurish tries. Stubbornly, Dotty keeps, and wears them. She likes pretty things and never can seem to hold on to her earnings long. In short, lots of cheap jewelry. Dotty always has to have at least one bracelet on, one necklace, and earrings. She has a money belt she wears under her clothing around her waist. Not the best of places, but since there usually isn’t much in it, Dotty doesn’t worry too much. She never keeps all her money on her person.

 

Weapons: Dotty carries a small vial of vinegar with her just in case she might need to throw it into someone’s eyes. She also has a small eating knife that she can use as a weapon if she can’t get away with the vinegar.

 

Magic: None. Dotty is very normal in that aspect. She really likes to see it done though.

Family:

Frederick Helms – Father

Elisabeth Helms – Mother

Bernard Helms – Younger brother

Personality: Alone, Dotty is a very down to earth person. She tries to think things thru and to judge the people around her as fairly as she can. With people, Dotty puts on the act of a spontaneous and loud person. At every turn Dotty makes jokes. Even though half, or more, of them are not very good jokes, she still laughs at them. She’s always laughing. Her motto is, “If you don’t laugh about it, you’ll cry. I’d rather laugh.” Dotty likes both cats and dogs, other animals normally make her squeamish though.

 

Dotty has a darker side too. Dotty dwells on things and, even though she tries not to hold a grudge, it is difficult for her to leave well enough alone. Whenever she is reminded of her lost dreams of becoming a professional dancer on the stage Dotty falls into a very unhealthy dark mood. It takes about a week for it to run its course unless something, or someone, shocks her out of it.

 

Dotty is open for relationships, perhaps even love, but it is hard for her to make a real connection with anyone. Even to her family. Dotty is rather impartial to her family, one reason why she found it so easy to leave them. In fact, Dotty is very happy to be away from the social circles of her parents and siblings. They never encouraged her endeavor with dancing, though they were right in the end, Dotty will not admit this! Dotty is stubborn, though she knows when to back down some of the time. She has sharp wit, though she pretends not to have them most of the time.

 

She is afraid of sickness! If a person has more than a cold, Dotty will avoid them at all costs. She’s terrified that she’ll become sick too. Dotty is not above stealing either, or lying. She tries to live a “clean” life, but recognizes that sometimes, clean is not the best policy.

Key skills: Dotty is a solid seamstress, house keeper, and cook. She also knows her ABC’s and can sound out simple words. It takes her a while, but she can do it. However, Dotty cannot write.

 

            Likes: Dogs, cats, fast horses, running, color, sugar, fish, jewelry, tea, sun, snow, pretty rocks (she has a collection), flowers, magic, dancing, and men.

 

            Hates: Being reminded of her lack of ability to dance as much as she used to, sour food, animals other than cats and dogs, and sickness.

History: Dorothy Helms was the first born of tax collector Frederick Helms and doting wife Elisabeth Helms. She was a strong child and grew well. Even as a child, Dotty had a hard time identifying with her family, though she knew she cared for them very much. When she was five years old her mother gave birth to her little brother, Bernard. Dotty enjoyed Bernard’s company when he was being a nice baby. But when he would wail for milk, the girl always was found scarce.

 

One day (Dotty was thirteen at the time) Dotty’s mother went looking for her and found Dotty in her room trying a pose that she had seen a dancer on a street corner. Elisabeth quickly told her daughter to stop and then explained why people of their class could admire entertainers, but not join them. However, being the spoiled older daughter she was, Dotty demanded to have dancing lessons and also insisted that her mother was wrong. She was going to be a dancer and she would prove it!

 

Dotty was in training at a dancing school for eight years, learning what she could. During a production her “school” was performing for the friends and family of the students, Dotty dropped a heavy bench on her foot. Thinking nothing of it, Dotty continued in the show and danced for the next three weeks on the unknown damaged foot. After those three weeks, Dotty began to feel a sharp pain in her instep whenever she tried to dance longer than an hour. She told her parents who then took her to a healer. The healer told them that Dotty had cracked a tiny bone in her foot and that because she had danced after the injury without rest, her foot would always be weak and she would never be able to dance for long on stage. Especially as vigorously as Dotty was accustomed to.

 

Her world falling to pieces about her (at least, in her mind), Dotty made a rash decision. She packed some of her clothing into a large rucksack, grabbed her pocket money, and got a ride on the back of a cart out of town. She asked the farmer where the cart was going and he said, “Corus, m’lady,” so Dotty decided to make a go at life in Corus.

 

When Dotty arrived, she found that one could not make a living off of half-done dancing. She did find a part time job for dancing at Mistress Bertha’s Room & Board. However, the pay was one free meal a day (of choice) and a room. Thinking of her other abilities, Dotty found a job with Seamstress Alice Lawrence about eight blocks down from Mistress Bertha’s. This arrangement has suited Dotty very nicely the past three years. Her parents were not too happy to find out what Dotty was doing, but they were relieved their little girl was safe.

 

Now Dotty remains at Mistress Bertha’s, dancing whenever Bertha tells her to and on scheduled occasions. She still has her job as a seamstress and has improved over the past few years. During that time Dotty has been making the rounds of inns in Upper Corus. Now Dotty wants to take a turn at cheaper places.