One of my favorite Sims from TS3 was my vampire, Violet LeFleur. She was born back in 1170 in France, in or within the general vicinity of Marseille. (As SimFrance was a place in TS3.) As the daughter of a minor noble, she was one of those fortunate enough to be somewhat educated and literate and was both intelligent and creative. Violet was a thoughtful child, who could be rather serious at times. Her mother saw that she was well-schooled in etiquette, and she grew to be a very proper, yet very graceful girl. With fair skin, black hair and violet eyes, she was also growing up to be quite beautiful.
Freedom of choice, however, was not to be one of her privileges in her younger life. Violet found herself in an arranged betrothal to a nobleman eleven years her senior -- a widower without an heir. It was fairly typical for the time -- a marriage meant to strengthen both family lines and curry favor with a higher-ranked lord. She was married as planned (still fairly young, but not unusually so for that day and age) and was soon pregnant with her first child. Tragedy struck, however, and she lost that first child, a girl she posthumously named Joie. Her second pregnancy, about a year and-a-half later, went without complication and she delivered a healthy baby boy, Michel, fulfilling her duty as Lady of the house.
All in all, her husband Symon was a good man who treated her kindly and though she never really 'fell in love,' she grew to like him well enough. Her son became the real love of her life, and she devoted herself to his care and upbringing. Violet was happy then, and would've been content to spend her life raising and teaching her son, but her future lay along other paths. Little Michel was only three years old when a new force entered Violet's life.
Estienne was a handsome young man, (apparently) of a similar age with Violet. He too was a young noble, a distant cousin of Symon's, who spent the summer at their estate. While Violet found Estienne handsome enough and enjoyed his company, she had no intentions of becoming anything more than friends with this newfound cousin -- she was devoted to her family and wanted to do nothing that might jeopardize that. Estienne, however, had other ideas.
Violet, still a young adult herself, had grown into a stunning beauty, and Estienne was immediately taken with her. For her own part, Violet was not ignorant of the young lord's attention, but she always seemed to know just the right way to turn away, divert attention, or politely decline when it seemed Estienne's interest was growing a little too intense. This frustrated the young lord, but it also seemed to heighten his interest, building his desire for that one beautiful thing that he just couldn't have.
It was halfway through the summer when the dreams began. Violet would wake in the morning feeling tired as if she'd hardly slept, and strangely drained of energy. Some nights she had vague memories of dreams -- passionate dreams where she was in the arms of a man she couldn't quite remember, but couldn't ever forget. Finally one night she woke in the middle of the night -- not in her own room at all. Estienne was cradling her and she pulled away as soon as she came to her senses enough to realize, then took in her situation. She felt strange, hungry, and there was blood dribbling down from her face, her chin. She looked around frantically, but seemed unhurt.
Estienne explained then, what he was, and what he'd done. Violet was horrified, furious, terrified. Estienne tried to assure her that everything would be alright, he seemed to think she'd come around, that she'd realize what a gift he'd given her and they'd spend their lives together. Violet was not convinced. She just wanted to go back to her family, her son -- but how could she? Now that she was this . . . this monster. What if she couldn't control herself, what if she hurt Michel?
Violet penned a note to Michel and Symon -- she couldn't tell them all of the truth about what she'd become, but she told them she loved them but she had to go -- then she fled. At first, she kept company with Estienne, just long enough to learn how to survive in this new life. At times, Violet thought of just ending it all, staying up, watching the sunrise and letting the sun burn away this loathsome life she'd been given. It was Estienne who convinced her otherwise, after a fashion.
Seeing Violet plummet into depression and self-loathing, he suggested one night that he could go back and turn Michel, so that they might live together -- she'd have her son and a family again. Violet went into an absolute rage and forbid him from ever touching her family. She vowed that night that if he ever did anything to Michel she'd end him. When she felt she knew enough to survive on her own, she fled from Estienne, with one thought, one purpose to drive her existence: She couldn't be there for Michel the way she wanted to, the way she -should,- as his mother. But she'd learn how to move unseen and use these new powers and she'd watch over her son, protecting him from Estienne or any others who might seek to do him harm.
So the years passed and Violet honed her skills, trying to do as little harm as she could, and she watched her boy grow, acting as a silent guardian angel all the while. There wasn't really a lot of trouble, but if and when anyone did threaten Michel and Symon, those people tended to experience a turn of very ill luck. One corrupt noble who persisted on even after being beset with troubles simply disappeared. (It was, most people agreed when looking back, a fortuitous thing for most, as the noble had been ruining the lives of others from some time.)
In time, Michel grew to a man and took a wife, had a family of his own. Violet began to look to building a life of her own. She let that intelligence and creativity she'd always had in her youth come out, explored the arts, learned more. Eventually she moved to Paris and took up sculpting. It was still hard, always living in the shadows, but she found joy in her art. Of course, she still loved her family and still kept an eye on them all. She checked on Michel's family, and his childrens' and all of theirs' -- she wasn't as ever-watchful as she was with her son, but Violet made sure to keep abreast of her descendants' lives and be that guardian angel when needed.
Centuries later, it was actually her family that led her to Willow Creek. Her granddaughter-many-times-removed, Gabrielle had married and moved there with her new husband, Etienne. It wasn't that uncommon a name in France -- probably just coincidence -- but . . . well, she was due for a change of scenery anyway.
