Elaine Court

Character's Full Name: Elaine Francis Court
Nickname: Laine (signs it Lane); Mouse
Reason:
Name deriative Name deriative from youth; changed spelling to accommodate how the man's name would be spelled. Mouse (or Mousey) is because of her hair color and because of the fact that she was fairly small compared to the soldiers.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:
Age (does she look it?): 26 (Yes)
Height: 6' even
Body Type:Lanky; Long legged. If one looks, she has a nice, curvy build, but she keeps it hidden most times. Her bosom is fairly small, so it's not hard for her to hide it by tying a sheet around it.
Weight: 160 pounds
Eye color: hazel
Hair (color/length/style): Mousey-brown (Grulla in horse-speak LOL); cut very short, and worn in a man's style
Favourite Color: secretly loves light blue
Education: Several of the best etiquette lessons from the South; self-taught in more worldly matters
Religion: Believes in the presence of God, but no real denomination

HABITS:
Smokes: NO
Drinks: Holds liquor well, but prefers coffee or fine liquors (ie brandy)
Hobbies: Reading, riding her mare

BACKGROUND:
Hometown: Large plantation just outside of Savannah, GA, known as Green Brower
Type of Childhood: Typical; Loving parents, older brother (by 4 years); learning to be a proper Southern lady; owned slaves, but treated them well. Up until she was about 20 years old. Then, her father was killed. She cut her hair and acquired the proper clothing before running away to join the Confederate Army as Lane Court.
First Memory: Learning how to sew while sitting on her mother’s lap.
Most Important Childhood event that still affects her: While visiting another plantation when she was 10, her father assisted in tracking down a runaway slave. Although she was told to go back to the house, she stayed and saw him receive 30 lashes for his transgression. & At 20, she saw her father's body dragged into the courtyard behind a wagon.

ATTITUDE:
Most at ease when: Doing something she's skilled at
Ill at ease when: In towns, or among large groups of people for fear someone will know her
Priorities: Survival
Philosophy: To hell with propriety; if something has to be done, roll up your sleeves and dive in.
PERSONALITY
Greatest source of Strength: Confidence in herself because she survived participating in the War.
Greatest Weakness: Her guilt. She blames herself for her mother’s death.
Soft Spot: Can't help but offer assistance to the under-dog or those who need it
Biggest Vulnerability: People who knew her family know there was only one son, and not two (She's trying to pass herself off as a man)
TRAIT:
Optimist or pessimist: Neither Why: She believes there is a sort of "Wheel of Fortune", or that things are based on luck and destiny, so why believe in any type of luck until it happens.
Introvert or extrovert: Introvert Why: She doesn't trust people very easily, and, as such, prefers her own thoughts and company most of the time.
Drives and Motivations: Helping when she can and living every day to the fullest measure that she can.
Talents: Sewing (especially useful with stitches), fair shot, riding
Extremely unskilled at: Cooking & baking. Will mostly carry hard tack and jerky for her meals.
Biggest Regret: Not speaking to her mother before she ran away to help out with the fighting; The fight she had with her father just before he went to a town meeting at which he spoke his views and was killed afterwards.
Minor Regrets: The loss of her wardrobe when Sherman came through Green Brower
Biggest Accomplishment: She saved a soldier's life when she removed a bullet from him. That act earned her place alongside the army doctors and allowed her to pick up what seemed to be a lifetime's worth of battle-field knowledge.
Character's darkest secret: She was raped by a Yankee soldier when he found out she was a woman. She later let him die when he was brought in as a prisoner to the field hospital.
Does anyone else know: No
Most prized possession: Tin-type of Elaine, mother, father, & Joshua, taken just before her father's death.
SHORT BIO:

Elaine grew up with the best of everything and was being groomed in the manners of a classic southern belle. She knows all about classical music and the arts, as well as how to play the part of hostess and socialize. Around her 20th birthday, a giant rift appeared in her life. There was talk of secession amongst some of the southern states, and there was to be a meeting in Savannah. Her father planned to attend and speak, urging the elders to please push for staying with the union. His views were widely attacked, and even Elaine opposed them. She had a furious fight with her father. He went to the meeting anyway, and, as a result, was murdered on his way home. His wagon rolled into the courtyard the next morning with him being dragged behind where he had been tied. While rumors were circulated, his murderers were never accused of anything and it was dismissed as nothing but the death of a "Yankee supporter".

Six months later, the fighting broke out in earnest. Elaine's older brother, Joshua, quickly enlisted, and, just as quickly, was killed in battle. Following a fit of impulsiveness, Elaine wrote her mother a letter, cut her hair, dressed accordingly, and enlisted as Mr. Lane Court of Savannah. She quickly learned to shoot, use a knife, and how hard the life of a soldier was. One day, a man beside her was shot, the bullet lodging low in his side. Elaine quickly dug it out and then half carried/half drug her compatriot to the nearest field hospital where she gave him a further job of care because the surgeons where busy with others. When they saw the job she had done, she was immediately transferred to help them constantly.

Late in the war, Elaine was making a run for more medical supplies that were needed. She was caught by five Yankee soldiers who proceeded to rough her up as much as possible. They were all drunk, and paid no close attention to her other than the fact that she wore a confederate uniform. They decided to whip her and tied her between to posts. She received three lashes, two cutting deep enough to draw blood (the third hit a swath of cloth she wore around her bosom to keep it from showing), before the men's captain came up and ordered them to stop. He began to unbutton her jacket and shirt to check the damage when he realized she was a woman. He dismissed the men, saying he'd deal with them later. When they were alone, he cut her down and raped her repeatedly before leaving her to die. Elaine managed to complete her supply run without anyone being the wiser to her injuries other than the bruises on her face. Four months later, with the cuts on her back just now healing into scar tissue, a Yankee captain was brought in as a prisoner. Elaine was told to work on him and recognized the man who raped her. She let him die, watching his face, before moving to the next patient.

Near the end of the war, Elaine found her company on the run from Sherman's advancing ranks. They wound up backtracking through the quickly emptying city of Savannah. Elaine managed a quick trip to her home, only to find out her mother had died a week earlier from some disease. The city was just about ready to auction away her home. Elaine quickly dismissed the slaves, grabbed the papers of ownership and legalities from her father's safe, as well as a small tin-type of the four of them together, before leaving for good.

After the treaty was signed, Elaine sold all the land of Green Brower for a large sum. She put most of it into several different accounts for later use, but saved some in cash and bought a train ticket to the middle of nowhere, where no one would know anything about Elaine Court. For a while, she tried to make her way as a woman, but found she couldn't get much as a young, single girl, aside from working in a saloon. She quickly reverted to her old persona of Lane Court. She bought the things she needed and learned as much as she could about cowboying, tracking, and other ways of life in the west. Having known some of the game of poker from watching her father and brother play, Elaine managed to make a fair living at the tables. It was here she won Black Powder, her mare.

Even though she avoided as much contact with people as possible, there were still several times in which Elaine found herself in the middle of some conflict. She helped when she could, either by fighting, lending money, or doctoring. Her clothes are limited to those on her back and two changes in her saddle bags. She has a yearning to feel the swish of a skirt about her legs, but is afraid someone would see her and recognize her later in her disguise. She continues to keep her hair trimmed short and her bust tied. She loves to read and has an edition of Shakespeare's works in her saddle bags. She carries a small pocketknife with her at all times, as well as colt in a holster on her right. She has a rifle on her saddle, as well as a Schoelinger (sp?) in the saddle bag for emergencies, along with some ammunition for it..