Dianna D'Andeli

"I am their Queen, they will not see me cringe."

- Queen Dianna

'Dianna D'Andeli, also known as Lady Dianna, Queen Dianna, and, by Edward, my Love, is a major character in the first books. She is faced by Isabel Lucas, and makes her first appearence in Chapter One of Book One. She is the daughter of Duke Warner D'Andeli of House D'Andeli, and Duchess Farah D'Andeli of House Roselette. Her siblings are Lord Garrett D'Andeli and Ser Landon D'Andeli.

Dianna is a strong, and kind to a fault, but also very trusting and innocent. She is very religious, and finds beauty in most everything. She is shown as being fond of reading, and flowers (as she spends the majority of her time in the castle gardens, or with a book).

She eventually marries Edward Raimcourt, and gives birth to their son, Robert Raimcourt. Not long after the birth of Robert, Dianna frames Contessa Helen Taylor for her own attempted assasination, and Helen is exiled. Eventually, Dianna is taken hostage by the Drow Rebellion, and is taken to Deathfall by Dhaun Rilynvirr, Vanya, and Nymeria. She is returned to Durnbarrow under the condition that Edward will relinquish the throne and leave Durnbarrow. Her beloved husband does such, and prepares to leave with Dianna, but she is kidnapped by Dhaun. Dianna remains strong while she waits for the chance to escape, or be rescued. She is Queen, and Dhaun will not see her cringe.

Background
Dianna is one of three children of Lord Warner D'Andeli and Lady Farah D'Andeli. Her siblings are Garrett D'Andeli, the heir to the house, and Landon D'Andeli, a knight of The Order. Dianna lived a happy life, with a loving family that taught her the importance of love, the art of beauty ("A woman's greatest weapon"), and courtesy ("A woman's shield"). Dianna has also always been close to the Tirentian gods, and,since a young age, has frequented the church. She prays daily, and has always had a special affinity with Fayre, the lady and daughter of Selene.

Dianna has always been inseperable from her brother, Landon. Even at an early age, the two were never far appart (the exceptions being Landon's missions and training with The Order). As Dianna grew to become a beautiful young woman-arguably, the most beautiful in Durnbarrow-Landon grew incredibly protective of her, to the point where it is believed he scared away possible suitors of the young lady, and rumors started about a possible romantic relationship between the two of them.

When she was 14, Queen Marianne bestowed upon Dianna the honor of becoming one of her ladies-in-waiting. Marianne saw a great deal of herself in Dianna, and believed the girl would be a good influence on her son, Edward. There, serving as a lady, Dianna met Contessa (then 'Lady') Helen Taylor. Helen was older, and drew more attention while Dianna was still too young to be sexually attractive. But, when Dianna was 16, Helen realized that Dianna had grown more desirable than herself. Helen grew jealous of Dianna, and began to play cruel tricks on her (one of these included cutting Dianna's hair). However, Dianna never retaliated, and soon Helen's cruelties subsided.

With Dianna now a beautiful, intellegent young woman, she began to draw the attention of (then King) Edward Raimcourt. He ended his secret relationship with Helen, who had been his lover since a young age, to pursue Dianna, and the rivalry between Lady Taylor and Lady D'Andeli began anew.

Personality
Dianna has shown herself time and again to be incredibly forgiving, and humble. But, with her eternal forgiveness comes a sense of innocence and naivity. She firmly believes that all people are naturally good, even those of other races. This has helped her to improve Tirentia's human-biased laws and government, although it also played a large part in the rebellion that stripped her husband (temporarily) from power, caused her own kidnapping.

Dianna is compassionate, empathetic, and giving. Yet, she is also quick to react on the rare occasions when her temper is aroused (an example being the plot to have Helen executed, and the resulting death of an innocent woman). The guilt she feels after any of these overreactions is strong, but never strong enough to will her to confess to an Earthly being.

Book One
As Dianna spends her day reading a book in the Castle Gardens, she compares the cities in her book to that of Tirentia, and entertains the idea of visiting the other countries boardering hers. Later ,she arrives to her own home and finds her brother Landon departing to another mission from the Order. After a quick talk they say farewell and Dianna desides to pray to the Warrior and Mother for the victory and safety of her dear brother.

Some days later she is invited to a tournament that is held in the downtown, in her way over she has a talk with her mother insist on Dianna to use her charms and beauty to attract the king. When they arrive Edward invites Dianna to the king's balcony in an attempt to woo her, but she is disgusted and fearful for the lives of the combatants. Edward arranges for any combatants injured to recieve the full medical attention of the castle healers, in an attempt to appease Dianna. This is the first Dianna sees of Edward's kinder, more loving side, and she begins to think he is more than a spoiled prince on a king's throne.

During that day's tournament, Byron Arryn, masquarading as a well-known combatant, fights Nymeria, a bastard half-breed who came to Durnbarrow seeking her blood-father. The match stops when it is revealed that Byron is not who he says he is. Byron is promptly arrested for impersonating a combatant, and the rest of the tournament is canceled. Dianna is escourted to her carriage by Edward, and he kisses her hand. Dianna notes that, although she would usually pull away, she does not now that she has seen a different side of him. She smiles, and returns to the carriage with her mother, Farah D'Andeli, who makes a comment that Edward is a powerful man, and his attentions should be accepted. Dianna hesitantly agrees, although she still feels that Edward, although not as horrid as she originally though, is not a man she would want to spend the rest of her life with.



Dianna first learns of Edward's unfaithfulness when she is being dressed for her wedding. Dianna had been hearing rumor that Edward was not yet 'over' Lady Helen, and had specifically asked one of her other ladies, Lady Drusilla, to help her dress for the wedding. She chose Drusilla because Drusilla has a reputation for knowing the most vile of gossip about everyone in the castle. Indeed, Drusilla was all too happy to recount the secret events of Helen's seduction, and that Edward had weakened and given in to the Contessa. Dianna was heartbroken, although Drusilla seemed rather amused at the whole situation. Dianna did not let this ruin her wedding day, however, and it was all but forgotten for the moment.



It is insinuated that the wedding night did not go as planned, and Dianna was visably upset with Edward on the following day. The Ladies-In-Waiting were also busy chattering on and on about Edward's 'disability'. However, Edward was deeply ashamed of himself, and sought to redeem himself. He spoiled her for the majority of the day, taking time away from his usual duties, and took her to bed later that night.

Book Four
This book begins in 4594 DY, almost eighteen years after the Royal Rebellion.