Grace of Onneria

Grace of Onneria
Lady
Born	Grace Elisabeth Claudia Heligsburg (1995-03-14) 14 March 1995 Onneria, Onneria, United Kingdom of Ottonia
House	Heligsburg
Father	Theodurik I
Mother	Caroline of Ghant
Religion	Honorian Church

Lady Grace of Onneria is the third child of Prince Theodurik IX of Onneria and his consort Caroline of Ghant. She is the twin sister of Aetius of Onneria, and is considered third in birth order because she was born hours after her twin. Prior to the South Ottonian Revolution, Grace was noteworthy for her general withdrawal from public life despite being a high-ranking aristocrat in South Ottonia. However, Grace, along with most of her family and much of the South Ottonian upper crust, fled to Draakur in March 2022. Since then, Grace has publically affiliated with the DSSA, speaking publicly in support of the party and entering politics and public discourse.

Early Life and Education

Grace Elisabeth Claudia Heligsburg was born on March 14th, 1995 at St. Theodur Hospital in Onneria in South Ottonia, hours after her twin, Aetius. She was baptised with her twin on April 10th, 1995. Grace's godparents were her cousin, Godwyn, Duke of Staalmark, and her aunt, Serena of Onneria.

Alongside her brother, Grace attended the Academy of Colona for her primary schooling before matriculating to Vylfhuld Academy at the age of 13 in 2008. While the two had been close prior, despite their differing temperments (Aetius was rambunctious and extroverted, while Grace was introverted and was called "courtesy incarnate" by one instructor), once in Vylfhuld the two rapidly grew apart. Aetius' increasingly hedonistic tendencies alienated Grace, who had become more and more devout in her faith and was considered by many of her peers to be "a bleeding heart."

Following her graduation secondary school in 2013, Grace chose to attend Sant Edwyg University in Hetsburg, an all-women's college not far from Onneria, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Sociology. Although Grace's collegiate education would drag on for six years, when she graduated in 2018 she did so with three degrees: baccalaureate degrees in Sociology and International Relations (with a minor in Honorian Theology Studies), and a master's degree in Public Administration.

Portrait of Grace in 2013, commissioned to celebrate her majority.

Young Adulthood

Following her graduation, Grace made a point of keeping a low profile, largely declining to join her elder sister and twin brother at public events. Instead, when she could be seen in public, Grace was often found volunteering and fundraising for women's shelters, drug rehabilitation clinics, food banks, and homeless shelters. She became particularly associated with Honorian Relief Services, a church-affiliated charity, and the Society of Sant Anna, a mendicant order of nuns.

In her spare time, Grace was reportedly a voracious reader in this time, both of fiction and nonfiction. Moreover, palace sources in Onneria indicate that the young Lady attempted to lobby both the regional government and her father, Theodurik to improve social safety nets and poverty relief measures, to little avail.

The South Ottonian Revolution and Residence in Draakur

In March 2022 as the South Ottonian Revolution unfolded, Prince Theodurik sent his family to relative safety on Draakur. However, as the mainland fell to rebels and North Ottonian troops, it became increasingly clear that Onneria would soon be lost to the family. Just as quickly, it became apparent that Draakur would soon be facing a refugee crisis and major economic restructuring to accomodate the new realities. Even as other exiled Ottonian aristocrats began looking to start their lives over abroad, Grace felt a calling to remain on the archipelago and advocate for the disadvantaged and to help shape the, for all intents and purposes, new country.

Within months, Grace had begun appearing at fundraising events, rallies, and relief events held by the nascent Draakuri Sarpetic Socialist Association. Grace quickly became a fixture of the speaking members at these events, calling on the Emergency Transitional Authority to massively strengthen the UKO's impotent social safetynets and calling for guarantees of food and housing. The DSSA's association with the Draakuri republican movement drew some degree of consternation from her family and other members of the exiled South Ottonian aristocracy, but her involvement has not yet been dissuaded.

Grace Heligsburg, speaking at a gathering in Sant Mikel, Draakur, in early 2023

Personal Life

Grace is noteworthy among her family for her level of piety; Grace is known to attend mass every week without fail, and prior to 2022 was often seen at Saint Honorius Cathedral in Onneria even during the week. Reportedly, in 2013 following her graduation from Vylfhuld Academy, Grace had to be convinced by her parents not to enter a convent at that juncture. Although since going to Draakur, Grace has publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the Honorian Church's stances on the refugee crisis, the South Ottonian Revolution, and its calls regarding government policy, she has reiterated her continued faith.

During the early and mid-2010's Grace was known to have a somewhat rocky relationship with her family, especially her twin brother, Aetius. Following Aetius' hospital stay in 2016, the two seemed to reconcile, although since 2022 the twins appear to have had another falling out. Her parents are known to have privately expressed concern with her activity since 2022, although they maintain there is no rift between them and their second daughter. Grace appears to get along cordially with her sisters, although observers believe that the she has little in the way of common interests with them.

She has generally been very private about her romantic life, and she is not known to have had any romantic entanglements in her life, although it is unknown if this is because she simply hasn't had any or if she has managed to keep any she has had secret.