Name: Isabel Manderly

She is named after Ysbel, the wildling beauty of Northern folk tales. Her parents decided to change the spelling to something more familiar and thus acceptable in the common tongue

Nicknames: you have to be careful with these, but by those very close with her she is
Isa and Bel/Belle
•the Spider - for those very few who see beyond her facade
•The Siren of White Harbour - commonly known as in the North
•the Virgin Widower. It's a joke at the fact she's managed to become a widower without ever being married. She finds this one mildly amusing at its ignorance and attempt at cleverness

House: Manderly of White Harbour

Gender: female

Sexuality: I don't believe the concept would have existed back then, but in today's terms she'd be called heterosexual, probably bi-curious

Age: 26

Appearance: Léa Seydoux

"I have sharp teeth inside my mouth,
Inside my dark red lips,
And lacquer slickly hides the claws
In my red fingertips.

So I conceal my armoury.
Yours is all on view.
You think you are possessing me-
But I've got my teeth in you."
- Angela Carter

Personality:
Isabel is a multifaceted person with much depth to her personality. There is no singular way to describe her. She is one of those who people who has the ability to put on many different faces so that the true her is often difficult to discern. She knows that to get along in this world she must be polite and well mannered. Here her patience is handy, because she knows to wait. Brashness will not serve her well in the cutthroat world she lives in. Hence, for the sake of her 'image' she advocates diplomacy over force to maintain her reputation. She is like a spider laying in wait - those foolish enough to think they can take advantage of her "gentle" nature are flying straight into the trap.

When this is not on display, she is a rather cold and aloof woman. She seems to display very little compassion, and pity is certainly not her forté. When needed, especially when she starts to feel like someone is challenging her authority, she drops the niceties and starts dealing out rather frightening threats. She can be totally ruthless and cruel when it comes to punishment. She rarely lets her emotion take hold and is a regal, dignified ruler.

She also recognises the power she wields and well as striving to maintain it; she knows she is alluring and can play the gentlewomen to get what she wants. She is manipulative and rarely sees her allies as more than instruments to her success. She is a master at bending facts to suit her desires and show her innocence.

The next layer to her personality is one only usually seen by her family. She is closest with her elder brother as they are more similar than her naive younger sister, but secretly thinks she would make a better ruler than him as he is often sullen, hotheaded and prone to temper tantrums which put the family's goals at stake. When not trying to maintain her public image, Isabel is usually smug, haughty, self-righteous and has a condescending cynical demeanour. Her pride and obsession with power is sometimes a thorn in her side - on the very rare occasion she attempts to let someone in, her controlling disposition seen in the public sphere often hinders her from forming any real bonds.

It is thus not a huge surprise that she is somewhat emotionally stunted. She sees emotion, or displaying one's true emotions as a weakness and so has hardly given herself room in the past. She is very intelligent and she is capable of affection, but she has never let it blossom for fear of making her weak. She does not like feeling vulnerable and so often puts her guard back up.

Backstory:
Isabel is the second born child of House Manderly. As a young girl Isabel was very close with her older brother Cregan. The two shared very similar thoughts, along with ambition to bring power to House Manderly. As someone who believes in the importance of family, she is protective of her younger sister who is hardly like her at all. It didn't take the older siblings long to realise they could get her to do almost anything for them as she looked up to them so much, without ever becoming like them. In some ways, although she won't admit it, she covets what her younger sister has. A youthful beauty and an impulsive nature to follow her heart, which Isabel never had. She was always confided to her calculating and carefully planning her rise. As mentioned, though she and her brother are much alike, she is less swayed by impulsive tempers than he. As someone who values power, she has always had a little jealous admiration at his seemingly effortless charisma and leadership qualities. She has had to work hard at hers. Though a brooding man, people are drawn to him naturally where she has to manipulate them else she repels them.

In her teen years, she was sent to live in the courts of Reach and returned at the age of 21. This was an unusual decision from her father, but it was in the hopes she'd marry a southern Lord and send their riches back to to White Harbour. House Manderly's origins were in the Reach after all, and he hoped to give new energy to that history. She was to marry Evin Caswell, but at his death she returned to the North. Evin's brother Bronn was married so there was little point in staying, especially as she was suspect for his death, although there was little proof for this. It is more likely he died of his pox. There were other men who offered Isabel their hand in marriage, but she realised that she didn't want to be ruled by a fat southerner. She chose to return to the north where the power of house Manderly was close by and at her disposal. This is arguably the thing that made her the woman she became. Highgarden was highly competitive and a cutthroat place with rules and customs unlike the North. Only those with mettle can really thrive there, and she certainly did. Being away from her family has allowed a deal of critical distance from them, but it also motivated her to return stronger and she is much changed from the spoilt, bitter girl that left. She is now much more calm and has learned to harness her energy for better, instead of letting it all out in an enraged little tantrum (albeit less than her siblings who were always more impulsive) as she used to when she didn't get what she wanted. It was there she learned the power of dignity and femininity.

Upon her return to the North, her father betrothed her quickly to Beren Knott, the son of her father's friend in fear that her reputation had been damaged (although most men would have in fact jump at the opportunity to marry her). Beren died in battle alongside Harrion Stark before their marriage could take place, and her third betrothed Tommard Dustin vanished overnight to Essos to become a Priest to the Red God. Many joke that she has put a curse on or even killed (though the latter does not stand up to scrutiny as there is an explanation for their deaths) anyone who attempts to marry her, as they've mysteriously met ill fate before the ceremony can ever take place. Her father died shortly after Tommard's disappearance and her brother has made no effort to re-betroth her because he knows she doesn't want to.

Other: she always makes an effort to look her best. She uses it to her advantage both to seem attractive to men and also to intimidate "lesser woman". She wears colours of silver, gold, silks of pale blue and pink. Silver and diamond necklaces, pearl earrings and rose gold bracelets. Her palette is sophisticated and never gregarious.

Family:
•Medrick Manderly, father, deceased. He was obsessed with wealth and reputation and reportedly would do anything for money

•Benyssa Manderly, née Frey, deceased

•Cregan Manderly, elder brother, Lord of White Harbour. Together they have ambitions to take the North. They are born less than a year apart.

He is one year younger than Harrion Stark, the same age as Aisla Karstark. The two were betrothed to marry once Alisa reached adulthood. They didn't know each other that well, but they seems to get along. When he was 17 and Harrion 18, Harrion and Alisa had an affair, resulting in a bastard child and the death of Aisla in childbirth. Cregan took this as a great insult and Harrion's father payed a dear sum to White Harbour in apology. House Manderly is the most economically prosperous house in the North, and thus could have posed a real threat to House Stark's authority if they'd made enemies

•Myriame Manderly, her younger sister. Polite, quaint, sweet and easily manipulated. She is escorting her sister to Winterfell for a possible marriage to the King of the North. FC is Elle Fanning with light brown hair