Constantia

Constantia is a supporting character in ''Balthazar. ''She is a centuries old female vampire, a member of Redgrave's tribe and Balthazar More's former lover.

Physical Appearance
Constantia is described as being very beautiful, tall and "statuesque", with long, golden blonde hair. At one point, she is compared in appearance to an " avenging Teutonic goddess". She is notably very tall for a woman, being taller even than Balthazar, who is around 6ft in height.

Background
Constantia was born in the thirteenth century, and was a Teutonic warrior. She was changed into a vampire by Redgrave; she later reveals that her transformation was not done willingly and she has secretly resented Redgrave for centuries, plotting revenge, but never having an opportunity to act upon it. In spite of this, she appears to get some pleasure out living with Redgrave, remaining part of his tribe for around seven hundred years and seeming to enjoy her at least some aspects of her immortality.

In 1640, Constantia was living with Redgrave in Massachusetts Bay Colony, posing as his sister, where one of the locals, nineteen year old Balthazar More, caught her attention. She asked Redgrave to turn Balthazar into a vampire to be a 'toy' for her and he agreed, with the pair murdering Balthazar's parents and torturing him until he consented to the change. After Redgrave coerced Balthazar into turning his sister, Charity, as well, he murdered his love interest Jane. When Constantia complained that it was a waste of good blood, Redgrave allowed her to feed off Jane's corpse, as it was "still fresh".

For over a hundred years, Constantia and Balthazar were lovers, though he felt no real affection for her, whilst she used him to satisfy her lust, forcing or coercing him into a relationship. Balthazar eventually left Redgrave's tribe and Constantia in late 1776. Constantia remained with her tribe. When the American Civil War broke out, Constantia and her tribe spent their days scouring the battlefields for victims. In July 1863, they ended up in New York and prowled the streets for victims of a violent riot. It was here that Constantia encountered her former lover again, whilst he was attempting to shelter African American families from the rioters. However, Constantia fled in terror with the rest of her tribe when a group of wraiths attacked them.

By 1918, Constantia was living alone with Charity in Philadelphia - Redgrave having travelled to France - when she encountered Balthazar once more. Balthazar met with Constantia at her home, on the pretence of rekindling their relationship following a chance encounter with Charity. However, he actually intended to kill Constantia so that he and Charity could escape and start over. Unfortunately for Balthazar, Charity betrayed him and told Constantia of his plans. Constantia took the stake Charity had hidden for Balthazar; when he attempted to retrieve it, she revealed what she knew and expressed some disappointment that Charity had been telling the truth. She then attacked Balthazar, staking him, settingthe house on fire and leaving him for dead in revenge for his murder attempt. Constantia continued to live with Redgrave's tribe for the next ninety or so years.

Balthazar
TBA

Personality
Constantia is seductive and flirtatious, yet also cruel, selfish, sadistic and hedonistic. This is clearly demonstrated by her request to Redgrave to make Balthazar into a mate for her, regardless of the consequences. She never expresses any remorse for the suffering she has caused Balthazar or any others over the centuries, and finds Balthazar's unwillingness to harm or kill innocents "a bore". Constantia bears many similarities to Redgrave, in that they both desire power - she enjoys dominating and controlling Balthazar and he mentions that she is the most likely candidate to become the new leader of Redgrave's tribe - and they both take whatever they want, uncaring of the effect on others. Like Redgrave, she is quite hedonistic and never seems to tire of manipulating and toying with others.

Constantia can be vengeful when crossed and is capable of holding a grudge for a long time - she has resented Redgrave and sought revenge against him since the 13th century. Constantia's anger at Redgrave's actions implies there is more to her that meets the eye - she indicates that she was not changed into a vampire willingly and it can therefore be assumed that Redgrave broke her spirit and influenced her inclinations towards malice and mind games, as he did with Charity after her. Constantia is skilled at hiding her emotions, as Redgrave did not seem to suspect she intended to betray him for many centuries. She also is noted for having a good sense of humour - even if it can be somewhat macabre at times - and is fun-loving and fearless (having been a warrior in her human life). Balthazar even states that if it weren't for her overwhelmingly negative traits, he may even have genuinely liked her. However, Constantia is an undeniably dangerous and ambitious woman and a force to be reckoned with.

Quotes

 * "Nobody wants us anywhere. That's why we go where we want."
 * "You're not the only one who got murdered, you know. Did that ever sink into your self-absorbed mind? Some of us hide our resentment better than you do. You were always a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve, Balthazar. Me - I take my time. I choose my moment. And the moment is now."

Appearances

 * Balthazar

Trivia

 * It is mentioned that Constantia used to love drinking absinthe, but she no longer enjoys it as much now due to the difficulties of obtaining "good absinthe"; namely because absinthe makers no longer add hallucinogens to the drink.
 * Constantia is a name of Latin origins, meaning "constant" or "steadfast", an appropriate name for a female warrior. Its medieval English form, Constance, was the also the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror.
 * She seems to bear a slight resemblance to another vampire, Courtney Briganti, in both appearance and personality traits. Ironically, Courtney also lusted after Balthazar and tried to seduce him, although he tolerated her at best. It coukd be speculated that part of the reason Balthazar was uninterested in Coyrtney was because she reminded him too much of Constantia, though this is unconfirmed.