Hiya
Basics:
Name: Squire Thomas James Thornton
Nicknames: Everyone just calls him Thornton
Age and DoB: 36, born 21 April 11 1157
Gender: male
Relationship: married to his young trophy wife, Isabella Gisborne
Occupation/Rank/Title: squire
Contact Information: PM on this account, cath_arundel or on my main lj account, mai_shiranui
Appearance:
Height: 5'9"
Eye Color: blue
Hair: light brown hair that's graying
Distinguishing features: his winning smile
Played by: Nicholas Gleaves
Style: He mostly wears dark colours, mainly brown, black and blue. His clothes always show off his wealth, something that he's very particular about. No one will be mistaking him for a peasant any time soon.
Personality:
The word that's most used to describe him is obsessive. When he has something in his sights, he won't stop hounding it until he has it. His wife knows all about that personality trait of his. He wanted her and he got her. Simple as that. He would even kill to get what he wants, but thankfully that hasn't happened often.
He has a violent streak to him too and he has beaten several men to within an inch of their lives (and one "accidental" death) for various reasons. Most of the time, there was no reason at all, but he'd make one up afterwards, most usually accusing people of stealing. Thornton beats his wife as well, but blames it all on her. The main pattern is that he is not to blame for anything. Other people drive him to violence, the fact that he has an extremely short fuse never enters into discussion.
Background:
Hometown: Lancaster, England
Family: His father, Thomas (deceased), his mother, Catherine (deceased). His parents had seven children, but only three of them made it past infancy (one being Thornton) and one of those three, his sister Anne, died when she was 14. The only sibling that he has left is his brother, Eustace, but they are barely in touch.
History: Thornton had a rather uneventful childhood. His parents had enough money to make sure that their children got whatever they desired, but Thornton still remembers the time when they didn't have that luxury. It only started going uphill for them when some pieces of land that his father owned started making enough money. And yet more money came their way when his mother's parents died. His mother was an only child, so she inherited everything.
It was at that time that things really started looking up for the Thorntons, because they could now move in better circles. It opened many doors for the family and also meant that their children would have many good opportunities. In Thomas' case it meant that he could get placement as a page in a knight's household. So when he was eight he was sent to Shrewsbury where he started working for Lord Rowan Montgomery. His years of service were to Lord Rowan were not particularly noteworthy, but the Lord treated him well and Thornton learned a lot from him and at the age of fourteen, he became the squire of one of Lord Rowan's nephews, Geoffrey Montgomery.
He mainly joined his master while he fought in tourneys, but he was at his master's side in some battles as well, the most noteworthy being the revolt against King Henry which brought Thornton to Normandy. During this battle, he had made himself indispensable to Geoffrey by dragging the wounded knight off the battlefield to nurse his wounds when he'd been struck by an arrow. Thanks to him, his master made a full and swift recovery and he was greatly rewarded for it.
When the revolt had been crushed, Geoffrey was granted some lands in Normandy and continued fighting in tourneys for several years. When Thornton became a knight at age 19, he even joined him and found himself winning a few battles. In his short time on the tourney field, he was already marked by his great cruelty. Whilst it was not unusual for accidents or even death to occur during a tourney, all those who came against Thornton found themselves crippled or dead.
Many more deaths at the hands of Thornton would have occurred had he not met his future wife, Isabella. He had travelled to Anjou with Geoffrey for another tourney and while they were staying at the mansion of friend of Geoffrey's, he first caught a glimpse of Isabella. He thought her pretty, but his feelings didn't extend any further than that. There was no way that he could have known what feelings she would awaken in him or how fast they would develop.
The more he saw her during his stay there, the more intrigued he became. He had already learned that her fortunes were less than good, having found out that her parents were both dead and that she and her brother were practically destitute. Geoffrey had already informed him that the girl was of noble blood and that made it even more interesting.
Thornton began wooing her, engaging in discussion whenever he could and bestowing gifts upon her whenever he could. She seemed to like the attention that he was giving her, but the girl was inexperienced and was merely being kind out of fear of offending him. This carried on for a few weeks and when he finally talked to her brother, Guy, and made his intentions clear, he found himself engaged to the lady Isabella and they were married a week later.
With the money that he had made during his service to Lord Rowan and Geoffrey and with his tourney winnings, he bought land and a manor in Shrewsbury and returned to England with his young wife.
He finds himself liking married life and the status that his marriage to a noble woman brings, but their marriage is not a happy one. The physical abuse started in their third year of marriage (verbal abuse had been going on for far longer). She did something infuriating, he can't even remember what it was anymore, but he lost control for a few seconds and found himself lashing out at her. He was so shocked that he immediately apologized for his actions, but that didn't stop him from beating her again a mere week later.
All this ended up turning into a vicious circle. He'll beat Isabella, apologize and tell her that he loves her, things will be good for a short while and then everything starts all over again. He would beat her for various reasons, but the one for which he would punish her the most was her inability to bear a child. An heir was expected of him and his wife was unable to give him one.
This unhappy marriage continued for many years and while he has convinced himself that everything is alright, Isabella sees things differently. After sixteen years of abuse something must have finally snapped, because one morning he found himself tied to their bed and his wife gone. After all these years, he never once thought her capable of that. After years and years of trying to beat his wife into submission, of trying to break her spirit, of trying to make her love him she went and did that to him.
When he finds himself setting off to look for her, he knows exactly where she went. The only place that she knows apart from their house and the house that she lived in with her brother in Anjou...Nottingham.
Writing Sample:
"You are mine."
He liked to rub that in whenever she would defy him. Even after all these years, she still had some fighting spirit. The blood that trickled down her chin at the moment was evidence how much he hated that he still hadn't broken her.
"Look at you," he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. Isabella flinched and raised her arm, ready to slap him. "Don't." When she saw the look in his eyes, she changed her mind and her arm was soon back at her side again. "You're learning," he said with a laugh as he took a handkerchief from his pocket. He spat on it and put the piece on her chin. "I don't want to rough you up, you know that, but you leave me no other choice. You just...drive me insane, Isabella."
It was unbelievable what kind of effect she had on him. He had never felt anything like it before he'd met her. He'd bedded many women before she came along, but she was the first one that he wanted to possess.
"There." He'd finished cleaning the blood of her chin. There would be a nasty bruise there later, but it would fade. Over time, he had perfected her punishments so that they wouldn't leave a scar. "Perfect." Thornton smiled at her, a gesture that she did not return, but he had gotten used to that. "I love you," he whispered as he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
And then she made a mistake again. She pulled away. He grabbed her face and wrenched her towards him. "I warned you. Do not, I repeat, not pull away from me. You are my wife. You are my property." Thornton kissed her full on the lips and pushed her away from him when he was done. Isabella fell backwards and contacted sharply with the floor.
"I will see you for dinner. Wear the blue dress, it suits your eyes. And don't misbehave, please."
With that he turned around and walked out of the room. When he was in the corridor, he rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply. That woman. She really truly does drive me insane.