Otto and Margarete von Eisenhof A bit of info about them:
Margarete 'Grete':
Sister to Otto; too indulged to be properly obedient, too clever to be dismissed as frivolous.
Grete has a restless, mercurial energy that makes her difficult to pin down. She moves quickly, laughs easily, and shifts tone without warning, from teasing to perceptive to unsettlingly earnest. Adults often mistake this for immaturity; those who spend time with her realise it is closer to curiosity without a filter.
She has little patience for reverence. Great men, great works, great tragedies are treated as things to be examined, prodded, and occasionally laughed at. She speaks of the great poet Größel as “just a man” and means it. Authority does not impress her unless it earns her interest.
Her manners are technically correct, but she deploys them selectively. She curtsies with exaggerated sweetness when it amuses her, ignores protocol when it does not, and treats rank as a game she knows the rules of but does not fully respect. She is especially fond of unsettling solemn people by being cheerful at inappropriate moments.
Grete collects stories the way others collect specimens. She is drawn to damaged, intense, or socially marginalised figures, not out of pity but out of fascination. She asks questions that are too direct, offers companionship too casually, and does not always recognise when she is being intrusive. Rejection rarely embarrasses her; it only makes her more curious.
Quote:
"I write fairy stories! Perhaps I shall show you sometime…"
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Otto:
A man shaped by duty, softened almost exclusively by his sister Grete.
Otto presents as composed, courteous, and impeccably controlled. He speaks little when he can speak precisely, and listens more than he reveals. Among peers, he is reserved rather than warm, measured rather than charismatic, a baron whose authority rests on quiet inevitability rather than force of personality.
Personally austere, Otto has little interest in ornament, fashion, or sentimentality. He dresses plainly for his rank, prefers functionality, and avoids displays that might draw attention. The bow at his collar is an exception: a small, conspicuous indulgence given by Grete, worn despite private embarrassment. He treats it not as decoration but as a token, and will defend it with surprising firmness.
Quote:
"If the choice is between propriety and my sister's displeasure, propriety may learn to endure disappointment."