Melia Tansel
Melia Tansel nee Canmore
Melia Tansel is one of the original owners of Two Sisters Vineyards. Though her children did not inherit any part of the vineyard, she is still considered the matriarch of the Canmore family. The true story of her life is a closely guarded family secret.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Melia was born in Cosonia in 971, though where, exactly, her mother, Severine Canmore was never clear about. Shortly after Melia was born, Severine took her and fled to Cesland where they ended up settling in Banreah. Life was rough for several years, Severine barely scraping together enough money to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
At the age of five, Melia manifested with Power of Flora. Most of her practice with her enmanity in the early years came from growing fruits and vegetables to supplement the food her mother could afford.
When Melia was eight, Severine fell in love with Siddhi Taksin and became pregnant with his child. He was a kind man who treated Melia as his own. As an herbateur himself, he was able to teach her how to use her enmanity. Severine and Siddhi intended to marry after the birth of their daughter, Justise Canmore, but Siddhi died a few months later before that could happen.
Times were rough again, but somewhat easier than before thanks to connections Severine had made through Siddhi. Melia took to the role of big sister well and was very protective of Justise, often looking after her while their mother was working.
When Melia was fifteen her mother finally married, but this time her lover was not a kind man like Siddhi. Unbeknownst to Severine, he was abusive toward the girls. Melia did her best to protect Justise from it, but was loath to approach their mother about it because they were finally in a financially stable place.
At nineteen, Melia caught the eye of a wealthy business owner. She didn't particularly care for him, but he was nice enough that she seized the opportunity to leave her abusive situation. A year after the wedding, Severine passed away, leaving Justise alone with their stepfather.
Melia did her best to help Justise, but her hands were tied. She had a new life with new expectations, not to mention the two sons she would have in the years following. She was also painfully aware that her husband had been unfaithful to her from the day they had married, but she chose to save that knowledge for a time that she could weaponize it. Melia channeled her frustrations into working in the greenhouse in the back garden. Most of what grew inside was benign, beautiful flowers and fruits, but in the back corner were plants of a far more lethal variety. She wasn't sure why she was so drawn to the cultivation of poisonous plants, but sometimes she let her mind wander through the morally-grey possibilities.
Things changed abruptly when a pregnant fifteen-year-old Justise came to her in tears. Their stepfather's abuse had gone farther than even Melia had realized. Her blood boiled with a white hot rage, and she vowed that he would pay for everything he'd done. She ended up coming up with a plan, one that involved the poisonous plants in the greenhouse, and one that took a lot of convincing to get Justise to agree to.
A week later, Melia invited Justise and their stepfather to an intimate dinner with her and her husband. As dessert was being served, Melia announced that she and Justise were going to start a new venture--wine making--and that it only seemed right that the most important men in their lives be the first to try what they had produced. The men found the announcement cute and humored the women by trying a glass. Twenty minutes later they were choking on their own tongues. After calming down Justise, who was understandably panicking about what had just happened, Melia collected her children and set the house ablaze to hide the truth of what had happened. There were rumors that foul play was afoot, but Melia played the role of a grieving widow well and the investigation concluded the men had perished in the fire which had been an accident.
With their combined inheritances, Melia and Justise left Banreah before Justise's pregnancy began to show and bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Hessen, a small town in the heart of Cesland's wine country. The romanticized version of living on a vineyard that Melia had in her head was far from the reality of the struggle to get the land to a workable state, but she welcomed the challenge. Over the years, Melia and Justise ingrained themselves into Hessen society as the Canmore sisters, two women who had faced the tragedy of losing a husband and a stepfather and created a new life for themselves. Melia was especially respected for taking on the responsibility of caring for her pregnant sister when she already had children of her own. No one knew the truth of why those things had happened, and Melia would make sure none of them ever would.
It would take three years to finally establish Two Sisters Vineyard, but the work never stopped. Melia found joy in the challenge, as well as in watching Justise overcome her trauma to find love, marry, and start a real family. Melia never had any other romantic interests, but she found herself suited to the role of aunt to Justise's children, to whom the entirety of the vineyard would be left because they manifested enmanities better suited to running a vineyard than her own children. Though she would sign control over to them in the later years of her life, she never stopped tending to the grape vines.
At the age of 82, Melia passed away peacefully in her sleep.
Sexuality
Asexual / Aromantic
Accomplishments & Achievements
Melia's greatest achievement in life was the opening of Two Sisters, even if it didn't fit the romanticized idea she pictured while in Banreah. This comes second to the murder of her husband and stepfather which, though gruesome, she saw as the biggest step toward finally taking control of her own life.
Mental Trauma
Growing up in rough times and with the abuse of her stepfather took its toll on Melia. She grew to rarely show genuine emotion and would remain emotionally distant from all but her sister. Even sitting at the table while her husband and stepfather struggled to breathe, she was numb to what was happening. It wouldn't be until years later that she would finally be able to process the complicated emotions regarding what she had done.
Intellectual Characteristics
Despite her very basic education, Melia was known to be both quick witted and calculating. She tended to become engrossed in things that truly interested her, sometimes to the point that she forgot to eat.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Much of Melia's motivation revolved around Justise and giving her a life where she could be happy away from their childhood traumas. She also sought to have control of her own life rather than being dependent on someone else.
Social
Social Aptitude
Melia generally presented herself in a reserved manner. She was adaptable to just about any social situation, capable of analyzing and becoming whoever she needed to be to get what she wanted. She was ruthless when it came to business matters, refusing to show the slightest hint of weakness.
The name Melia (mel-ee-ah) is of Cosonian origin and, for the first part of her life, Melia used the Cosonian pronunciation. Following the move to Hessen, she made the conscious decision to go by the Cesan pronunciation (mel-ya) as a sign of shedding her past life.
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