[b]Name:[/b] Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Bellefontaine – she never uses her full name.

[b]Sex:[/b] Female

[b]Description:[/b] Cassie stands about 5’5” tall and is slim but somewhat curvy. She has long black hair which she usually wears tied back unless performing, when she wears it loose and flowing. She has dark green eyes and a gracefully pretty face, looking genuinely beautifully when she smiles. Her entire body from her shoulders to her ankles is covered in colourful tattoos. Stars, hearts, birds, moons, suns and flowers can be seen among the colourful mix along with sailing ships, webs and roses with thorny vines. People who study them may notice that they seem to change position on her body, though no one ever sees them moving.

[b]Date inducted:[/b] Late 1700s.

[b]Role:[/b] Former tattooed lady/trick daredevil 

[b]Offensive Power:[/b] 
Her horse riding act has left her limber and agile – while nowhere near as graceful as Aurelie, she can perform basic acrobatic moves quickly enough to get herself out of harm’s way.

Her tattoos function as both armour and weapon: when fighting shadows they wrap and flow around her like form-fitting armour, and two long streams of colour flow into her hands which she wields as whips of multi-coloured light against the darkness.

[b]Biography:[/b] Born in a family with a name and title but precious little money, Cassandra (as her parents insisted on calling her) grew up in a world of genteel poverty. She was taught the arts that a young lady of the time should know, though her parents despaired of her spirited temper, and was raised to snare a rich husband. When she was 20 she as married off to a rich slave trader move than twice her age. Cassie tried to make the best of the match, but her new husband soon proved to be a cruel, vicious man who treated her much as he might one of his own slaves – something he’d bought and can use as he chose. Which included breaking her if he wished.

She endured marital rape and his emotional and physical abuse for the next eighteen months; she tried to flee to her parents but they refused to help her, claiming it would disgrace the family if she left him and forced her to return.

After enduring another beating, Cassie snapped. She dismissed the servants for the night, sending them off to see the circus that had arrived that day, stole a knife from the kitchen and while her husband slept that night she stabbed him. Repeatedly. The only thing she felt as his blood splashed against her skin was a tired relief that it was over – he couldn’t hurt her anymore. She set fire to the house as she left and released the horses from the stables, taking one to ride away to a safe distance and watch the house burn.

At this point the mysterious ringmaster offered her his deal – join him, and everyone would assume Cassandra Bellefontaine had died with her husband; no one would look for her in the circus. She accepted without hesitation, and when they shook hands the bruise and blood on her skin transformed into colourful tattoos, concealing the marks of the abuse she had suffered. She’s travelled with the circus ever since; as tattoos are no longer a sensational thing on a woman, she’s graduated as a daredevil horseback rider.

[b]Other:[/b] 
Nationality: English/British (obvious from her soft accent).

She professes to be bisexual, but seems to prefer other women as partners. Whether this is natural inclination or a reaction to the abuse she suffered is debateable.

She never talks about her past, but shows a marked empathy for others who show the signs of physical or mental abuse.

She has two horses – one pure white called Spirit, the other jet black named Sable. She knows they’re not original names, but so what?

[b]Audition:[/b]  “And now, a tradition that dates back to the first days of the circus – Cassie our daredevil rider!” The lights went up and wild gypsy music began to play as a pair of horses, one black, one white, galloped into the ring. The small girl watching the show clapped enthusiastically as a young woman rode on the white; her long black hair whipped out behind her as she raised her arms above her head. 

The two horses galloped side by side around the ring. The girl watched spellbound as the young woman spun smoothly from one impossible pose to another, standing upright with both arms raised, swinging out of the saddle and re-mounting in a quick swirl of limbs so she faced backwards until she remounted again, her body lying sideways across the saddle, head downwards.  The girl gave a gasp as the young woman performed a quick backwards roll on the horse before vaulting onto the black.

She rolled up into a headstand, and the crowd cheered as she performed the splits upside down, holding the pose for one full gallop around the ring.

The small girl gasped as the young woman swung out of the saddle, hanging almost upside down for a minute, one hand dangling to the ground before she swung back and up to her feet.  She vaulted backwards, balancing on her hands before springing up into a somersault that left her standing with one foot on either horse. She raised one arm, acknowledging the cheers from the crowd. Streamers of colour seemed to flow from the limb.

The child applauded until her hands ached as the horses reared up in unison and then stretched out their front legs, lowering their bodies as they too took their bows.