Natali

Natali is the heroine of Natali and Baudouin: the only heir of Sylvael, the elven kingdom hidden in an enchanted forest, and the most gifted healer the kingdom has seen in generations. She is a princess who would rather be called by her name, and a daughter caught between the will of her father and the will of the Heart Tree.

Appearance

Natali is a High Elf woman with a slender oval face, a soft chin and a straight, fine nose. Her eyes are a warm brown, framed by blue-violet lashes, and a scattering of faint freckles crosses her cheeks. Her long, wavy hair, a rich medium-to-dark brown, falls to the middle of her back, with a straight blunt fringe across her forehead. Two thin braids start at her temples and hang in front of her shoulders, each ending in a tiny silver leaf charm that catches the light when she turns her head. Like every elf of Sylvael, she has long pointed ears.

A thin silver filigree circlet with an opal rests on her forehead, and silver leaf earrings match the charms in her braids. She wears one dress throughout the story: floor-length cream chiffon with short, loose sleeves, a V-neck wrap and a gold Greek-key border along the neckline, sleeves and belt. Two new details join her look as the story moves on: from Part 16 a silver leaf pendant with a moonstone, a gift from her mother, and from Part 21 a wooden bracelet set with an emerald, grown on her wrist by the Heart Tree itself.

Her magic is part of her appearance too. When she heals, a soft blue glow gathers around her palms, sprinkled with sparks. Against the poisonous green of the orcs’ Gates of Worlds, her blue light is the colour of hope.

Personality

Natali’s kindness is instinctive rather than dutiful. In the very first scene of Part 1 she kneels beside a doe tangled in thorns simply because it is frightened and in pain, and she laughs with pure joy when it runs free. She dislikes ceremony: on her first day at Moonroot Academy she begs the students not to bow, and after healing Baudouin she corrects his “Your Highness” with a gentle “Just Natali”.

Gentle does not mean meek. When Aelarion mocks a commoner in front of the whole courtyard, she answers him coldly and publicly. When a guard at the forest border tells her that a princess should not be there, she asks him who should, and heals his wound under the eyes of the orc scouts. Her sense of fairness is stronger than her sense of rank.

She is also afraid of herself. Her gift is so strong that it can make an entire lecture hall burst into bloom, and in Part 3 she asks her mentor, almost in a whisper, what is wrong with her. In Part 13 a training vortex of light breaks loose from her control and nearly strikes her. Her fear is never that she is weak, but that her power might be too much. She also has a quick sense of humour and a habit of telling the truth plainly, even when it hurts.

Story so far

Natali is introduced healing the doe in the forest of Sylvael, unaware that green eyes are watching her from the bushes. In Part 2 the watcher turns out to be only Lyrelle, but at the Academy gates Aelarion greets her as his “future bride” in front of everyone. In Part 3 her first lesson with Master Eldrin makes the whole rotunda bloom, and the old mage warns her that such power draws attention.

Part 4 brings Baudouin crashing into her, scattering her scrolls, with a tiny blue spark passing between their fingers. In Part 5 she heals the scratch he took winning the duel against Aelarion, their first real touch. Part 6 catches her blushing on the gallery at sunset, and then the King notices whom her eyes are searching for in the crowd.

The romance turns serious in Part 7, when her father forbids her to think of a commoner and orders her to marry Aelarion. Her mother comforts her at night, and a note from Baudouin leads her to the Glowing Lake in Part 8, where they talk honestly about everything that stands between them. A horn breaks the moment, and in Part 9 Natali runs to the border and heals a wounded guard on a real battlefield.

In Part 11 she asks Eldrin in front of the class whether the Heart Tree can be wrong. In Part 12 she stands silently beside the throne while Aelarion asks the King for her hand. After Baudouin shields her from the runaway vortex in Part 13, she answers his “I have nothing to give you” with “You already have”, and their fingers intertwine for the first time. In Part 16 Lyrelle braids her hair for the ritual and the Queen gives her the moonstone pendant, which flashes a poisonous green when she is alone; in Part 17 she hides that light in her fist.

On the night before the ritual, in Part 19, she meets Baudouin beneath the Heart Tree and they share their first kiss. In Part 20 and Part 21 she stands before the glowing roots in front of the whole court, and the Tree binds her wrist to Baudouin’s with matching emerald bracelets. She cries and smiles at the same time, and then her father says a single word: “No.”

Relationships

• Baudouin sees Natali rather than the princess; the Heart Tree confirms their bond in Part 21.
• Lyrelle is her best friend, who teases her without fear.
• Aelarion treats her as a bride already promised to him; she has never returned his interest.
• The Elf King, her father, wants her to marry within her rank.
• The Elf Queen, her mother, quietly stands on her side.
• Master Eldrin understands her gift better than anyone.
• Morn, the orc chieftain, has never met her, yet in Part 10 he orders the healer princess brought to him.

See also the characters guide and The World of Natali and Baudouin.