THE TRAGIC BACKSTORY. 

TW :  blood, death, sacrifice, drug use / mention, sexual assault mention, violence

born the youngest of three, Ravenna Grace Astrape was welcomed into the world on October 31st, 1993. her mother cradled the newborn to her chest, tiny fingers reaching for the shiny, gold locket hanging from Adriana’s neck as her other children got a look at the new addition to their family. Silas was careful, taking the baby into his arms  &  held her the best a 4-year-old could. Jace tenderly rubbed the top of her bald head, cooing to his little sister as the 2-year-old looks to his father for approval. from the side of the bed, James gave his sons a small nod as fingers drift through the blonde locks of his wife. it was there, on the bed where each of the Astrape children had been born, that the family stayed nestled together happily.

it wasn’t a fairytale but the family was blessed with love  &  happiness from the start. already given the advantage of Adriana’s world-renowned 5-star restaurant   &   James’ successful law firm, the Astrape’s didn’t have to worry about money     just surviving day-to-day without being exposed to the humans   &   hunters about what they really were. the mansion nestled in Scarsdale,  New York was surrounded by acres of trees  &  together their parents kept a warm  &  welcoming home, often smelling of whatever her mother was cooking in the kitchen, always loud, full of laughter  &  music. their family didn’t stop with the five of them, their friends — Angel  &  Demon &  everything in between   — bustled in  &  out of the humble abode at all hours of the day. sleeping in the spare rooms  &  holding brunches  &  meetings in the sunroom, tending to the garden  &  helping the kids with their homework  &  training.

it changed the August of her 8th birthday. she watched from the safety of Silas’ arms as her entire world burned down in a holy fire in front of her. Hunters had found them, coming in during the dead of night and lit a match to the unaware inhabitants. They attacked the family then while they were scrambling to get out, stabbing James with an angel blade killing him quickly. Next was Adriana who bought her children more time as she fought and distracted them but she was overcome and never made it out of the house. Silas stumbled to Ravenna, finding her unconscious and bleeding out from a wound on her side, another angel blade was used on her but because it didn’t pierce her heart it didn’t kill her. Jace found his way out before collapsing to the ground, lungs filled with smoke and a knife wound in his stomach, the 10 year old boy succumbed to his injuries. a few other family members were lost that night, Adriana's sister & 2 of their cousins never burned to ashes having been the first attacked. 

Adriana used the last of her strength to shield the children from the remaining attackers, taking them down with her as the house crumbled to pieces on top of them. Silas cradled Ravenna against his chest as the little girl clung to her lifeless brother, praying to anyone who would listen to bring him back    no one answered. hours later, it was her cousin who mentioned a way for them to bring back Jace, a whisper to her mother in hopes to offer some comfort to the children & before the woman could refuse Ravenna was already demanding to proceed with the ritual. her aunts attempted to sway her decision, mentioning the risks of bringing people back from the dead but Ravenna is nothing if she isn't stubborn. it called for a sacrifice, someone willing to forego their own life for the other & without hesitation Ravenna volunteered. met with an immediate 'no', the others tried to figure out what to do & with them distracted, the 8 year old impulsively sacrificed herself all while gripping Jace's hand.

she was dead for all of 13 minutes but it felt like centuries, searching for her brother on the other side & running from the monsters reaching for her. she finds Jace, in the midst of a fight with a monster seemingly older than time, something long since locked away from world. Death greets her, holding her back from helping her brother & offers her a deal, Jace can go so long as she stays . . . "the monster must be fought. for if it is free, it shall swallow all that is created." she agrees.  the siblings get all of 3 seconds to see each other, enough for Jace to realize what's happening & for Ravenna to see her brother one more time.

the ultimate sacrifice, freely choosing to take the place of her brother in death, something inside her awakens. she's always been a demon because of her mother, so she never thought there was a possibility that she could also be an angel. though as the beast swipes downward at the little girl, a blast of holy light comes from her hands as she goes to defend herself & shreds the monster's paw in half. the fight doesn't take much longer & as the creature fades from reality, Death appears once more. "it seems without the monster to fight, you are freed from our contract. you may return but i fear this won't be the last i see of you."

now that the siblings are reunited, their great - great grandfather Maximus takes them in, bringing them to Adriana's homeland -- a vast but hidden kingdom in northern italy where he rules as their king. for 6 years they remain under their grandfather's care, Maximus doting on the children like they were his own & prepping them to rule one day, especially Ravenna his reginetta  ( little queen ). with the help of their family, Silas was able to bring them back to the states when he turned 18 & received his inheritance from their parent's will.

At the age of 15, after her first boyfriend dumped her, Ravenna fell in with a bad crowd. Partaking in vandalism, petty crimes, running and doing drugs from an underground cartel whose specialty was in the supernatural. ADAM DANES introduced her to them after they had begun dating when she was 16, it was a constant on-again-off-again relationship with their arguments being emotionally and physically abusive. She found solace in the arms of ÉMILIE DELACROIX, the beautiful dark-haired French woman who belonged to the leader of their motley crew, DYLAN RISMON. It was innocent at first, Ravenna going to her in times of distress but it quickly turned romantic; the idea of Émilie being forbidden fruit, a secret affair, hidden smiles, and careful touches, it was an adrenaline rush for both of them as they kept their secret from Adam and Dylan.

As time went on, their gang became more violent and destructive not only to the public and their rivals but also to each other, mostly towards the female members. Dylan didn’t think highly of them, seeing them more as a trophy to show off rather than trusting them with deals or sending messages to other gangs. Without verbally saying it, he gave the other men permission to do whatever they pleased to the women if they weren’t already taken by another member. Émilie was off limits. Ravenna was not. Adam did protect her though, claiming they were together so nothing happened to her and she appreciated it greatly. The girls continued seeing each other in private, though it was more dangerous than before and Ravenna wanted to end it so she could start distancing herself from the gang before it cost her her life or her brothers but Émilie had her wrapped around her finger.

Adam discovered them first and Ravenna practically begged him to keep quiet. He did, Adam never told anyone what he saw, instead, he told the others Ravenna was now at their disposal and they didn’t waste any time. Iron and exorcisms were used to keep her weak as they took turns physically and sexually assaulting the now 17-year-old. Adam was in on it too, muttering into her ear that this was all she was good for and how she should be thankful he didn’t open his mouth about her and Émilie. Dylan didn’t stay in the dark too long after Adam’s announcement and when he found out, nothing could save her from his wrath. He tortured her for weeks; keeping her in an iron cage and chains when he wasn’t beating, clawing, kicking, assaulting her weak and practically lifeless body. Ravenna had begun to disassociate by then, only feeling the pain in the dead of the night when she couldn’t sleep. During her third week in captivity, Ravenna found out that it was Émilie who told Dylan about their tumultuous relationship giving her the explanation that she was “ just bored ”.

Silas had found her three weeks later, his concern for her well-being making him search for her by whatever means necessary. When he saw his nearly dead sister locked up in a cage like an animal, nothing could stop him from getting to her and although he didn’t kill anyone, he gave Dylan a warning that if he ever came looking for her he would use his pelt as a rug.

It took 3 weeks for Ravenna to heal physically and that’s with Silas’ magical help. So filled with iron and nearly losing Malel ( and herself ) from how many times they spoke parts of the Latin incantation to keep her docile while they used her body for what they wanted. Silas put Ravenna in a deep sleep, during which he moved them to a different building in the Upper East Side, buying the penthouse from the landlord and placing a few spells to keep it hidden from supernatural eyes. The bruises and cuts disappeared from her body but the ones that were inflicted on her emotionally have yet to heal. After a full 5 months of putting herself — and Malel — back together she finally felt some semblance of normal. When her connection with Malel was mended, it was stronger than ever with the two of them relying on each other and striving to be better than before, to never be so WEAK again.

When Ravenna walked through the doors of the shit hole where the gang had taken up residence 6 weeks later, they didn’t give her a second glance as if she was insignificant after they had taken turns killing her piece by piece. Dylan sat atop his mighty throne with Émilie by his side and expected to see Ravenna on her knees groveling for forgiveness. His smirk faded fast when her eyes turned to pools of glistening black and then he went lax after his head was detached from his body. There was no stopping Malel, though the others tried it made no difference and their blood painted the walls red while their intestines decorated the floor. The act of forgiveness — asked or given — isn’t something she’s ever been good at, that’s Silas’ strength; her specialty is in getting even.