Charlotte Barnsburry
“You're used to agreeing with everything everyone says, aren't you?”
—Alice Windsor
—Alice Windsor
A student new to the Tillman Institute for Young Women interested in the semi-secret Blossom Society, a club for girls afflicted with avoir mal des fleurs, or flower-sickness. According to her records, she transferred from another school to "focus on getting a more high-quality education," though in reality, it was due to relentless bullying.
Appearance
A fair-skinned teenage girl with cool violet eyes and long red hair; she keeps it up in a ponytail with a white ribbon. Petite and pretty, almost like a well-kept doll. She doesn't have any visibly identifying marks, though she has a patch of freckles that resemble the Little Dipper on the left side of her waist.Unlike most of the girls in her club, she wears the school uniform as it's meant to be worn: short-sleeved white button down in the summer, no accessories aside from the small black ribbon that goes around their collar; a black pleated skirt that reaches her knees; white socks that go midway up her calves; and black dress shoes she shines every morning. Her bag is a black, over-the-shoulder type. In winter, the only changes to her school uniform are the school-issued black blazer and the exchange of socks for stockings.
Outside of school, Charlotte dresses in faded pastels and simplistically-styled clothing, favoring whites, pinks, and yellows the most. It's very ladylike, but it feels more childish than elegant. She never changes her hair ribbon out for another color, paints her nails, or try to change her appearance in any way that might be considered too far out-of-line with how a young lady should look.
Personality
Well-mannered and polite, Charlotte comes off as the perfect example of a young lady—however, her upbringing in what could be considered high society has also left her willing to lie and manipulate the truth of situations to get where she needs or wants to be. Her morals and ethics can be a little questionable as a result, but she never lies with the intention of hurting or using people. Other traits of hers that don't exactly line up with the image she upholds is how quick to anger she is, though she's learned to bite her tongue and smother it because a lady never lashes out; her overeagerness to impress those in a higher authority position than her, which often leads to a stubborn insistence on trying things again and again until she performs as expected; and a spoiled streak that isn't quite on Sophie's level, but that almost gets there.History
The middle child in an old money family, Charlotte's lived a relatively charmed life—when she's not getting compared to her older sister or ignored in favor of her little sister, at least.Flower Motifs & Meanings
White Iris
"Purity."
Blue Iris
"Faith and hope."
Red Carnation
"Admiration, my heart aches for you."
Relationships
- Family Charlotte enjoys a charmed life with her family, as long as she doesn't step out of line. Her parents are often more concerned with her older sister Pearl's affairs or in taking care of her younger sister Wendy, so Charlotte has to work extra hard to stand out and get their approval. Despite her mild resentment for her sisters, she loves them both. Her family has extremely traditional values, however, so Charlotte tends to not talk about the girls in her club too much.
- Matilda Maddock The secretary of The Blossom Society; Charlotte gets the feeling she doesn't believe her lie, which puts her a little on edge. Matilda is the most beautiful girl she's ever met though, and Charlotte feels an untameable desire to be praised and accepted by her, though she doesn't know why she wants to spend time with her so badly.
- Lynn Powell The president of The Blossom Society; a wild girl who marches to the beat of her own drum. Her and Charlotte get along well, though Charlotte doesn't know what's going on in her mind most of time.
- Sophie Rickett Her fellow Literature Club member in the society and the only person who knows about her freelance writing careeer as Luna Rose. While they get along and have a lot of fun discussing books, every book pick is almost always in Sophie's favor because of this potential blackmail—and Charlotte's tastes don't really run the same way as Sophie's.
- Emily Rause A girl Sophie loves to talk about. Charlotte finds it awkward to talk to her because she knows so much second-hand information, and Emily doesn't really try to push it any.
- Alice Windsor A girl Charlotte likes to think she's friends with, but she knows if she really thinks about what she knows about Alice, she'd come up with almost nothing. She appreciates their chats regardless, but she wishes they could be closer. The reason she feels so welcomed in The Blossom Society.
Trivia
- She eats a bowl of cherries every morning to keep her knot-tying skills sharp.
- She's terrified of dogs due to an incident in her childhood, specifically small ones; bigger ones she's better with, but not by much.
- She doesn't share a class with anyone else in The Blossom Society, just like Lynn.