 Lady Audrey Douglas
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 The portrait of Audrey Queenswrit, donated to her orphanage following her eventual demise. | |
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Race |
Human |
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Gender |
Female |
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Age |
52 |
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Affiliation |
Kul Tiras, The Alliance |
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Status |
Dead |
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Relatives |
Archibald Douglas (husband), James Douglas (eldest son), Olivia Douglas (eldest daughter), Victoria Douglas (daughter) |
Lady Audrey Douglas (maiden name Audrey Queenswrit) was of Kul Tiras aristocracy in life, and the sole proprietor of Amberbell Orphanage in her later years. She was regarded as both refined and yet lighthearted; an avid churchgoer and strong believer in the Light; and was particularly generous toward the orphanage which she funded both the construction and operation of following the Second War that had left many children of Kul Tiras orphaned.
Although all of the children since the war have come of age, her orphanage still exists to this day: and so the legacy of Lady Queenswrit continues and is often recanted to those who inquire. She is popularly envisioned as the ideal matron who "enforces a no-bedtime policy and makes every meal sweets" among the children and their anecdotes of her.
Biography[]
Born several decades before the dawn of the First War, Audrey Queenswrit's world was seen largely through rose-colored glass during her adolescent years and into adulthood. Though she was instructed in and eventually well-versed in the Common diction, mathematics, and geography, she had abstained from much of her family's business throughout life, for under the watchful eye of her parents, their family's merchant ships sailed the Great Sea with relative safety.
Years Preceding the Second War[]
The influence of Audrey's parents foreshadowed her life and eventually extended to include her future husband, Archibald Douglas, a man from a similarly wealthy merchant family. Ten years before the Dark Portal was opened and the orcish hordes poured into Azeroth, Audrey Queenswrit was duly presented with a marriage proposal; one more arranged and expected of her than it ever was asking for her approval. She was a blossoming young woman, one who her parents sought to make use of to further their business by merging with a family of equal or greater precedence. It happened upon them that the House Douglas, proud and rich from its booming trade, had sired a child that was also coming of age. The pair was quickly acquainted while both sides sought to make the most of the union their children would create for the families. Eventually it was decided that the two would be wed, despite Audrey's quiet protests to such a forced marriage. Archibald was a gentle man, however, and she grew to share a deep affection with her husband as the years passed - one that would last until death did them part.
By the dawn of the First War ten years later, the two families' trade had grown exponentially. Archibald was a remarkable economist and preferred trade with the goblin cartels of Kezan, his fluency in the Goblin tongue and cunning allowing him to manipulate many deals in his favor during one of the Trade Wars. Audrey had borne him several children and at her husband's side, no longer controlled by her parents, she began to take a minor interest in his affairs and would occasionally negotiate deals whenever he prioritized other matters.
Throughout the First War, neither Kul Tiras nor its economy paid any attention to the ravaging of Stormwind. Trade was unhindered and it was an affair Archibald in particular had little interest in. Audrey sympathized with the situation, although she did not understand it very well and questioned the reality of hulking green beast-men and small giants brandishing clubs.
The Second War[]
As the First War concluded and Anduin Lothar assembled the Alliance of Lordaeron, he had skillfully managed to acquire Admiral Proudmoore's backing. At their king's orders, Archibald pledged himself to the war effort and generously contributed many of their family's armed fleets. It was said by some that their eldest son, James Douglas, who had been a mere fifteen years at the start of the war, was even more boistorous than his father when it came to supporting Kul Tiras and demanded he be allowed to serve alongside his father, and also that he never truly overcame his grudge at being forbidden from doing so. Regardless, the time for war came and passed, and despite the human fleets' defeats that had left them shattered, Archibald returned home victorious.
After witnessing the destruction of the green beasts known as orcs for herself from her husband's tales, Audrey was awestruck and believed that leaving such horrifying and war-mongering beasts alive would not stop their bloodlust. They had not been sated with Stormwind, after all, and came for the rest of the human nations next. Both her husband and she publicly disapproved of King Terenas Menethil II of Lordaeron's decision to establish internment camps; along with their own king, they withdrew from the Alliance after Lothar's death and left it to its political turmoil. Of course, Audrey was not ignorant of the social situation on Kul Tiras either. It was at this point, though not quite, that she along with her husband's support began to draft plans to assist victims of war.
It was fortunate, perhaps, that her eldest son's temperament one day inspired Audrey to bring James to one of Boralus's orphanages. As a faithful believer in the Light, Audrey believed in imparting the Light's Three Virtues to her children as they began to come of age and could fully appreciate its meaning. It was here, in an overcrowded and shabby orphanage, that she had brought him, hoping her child would feel some compassion for the devastation of war and its innocent victims.
The events that follow are not very well-documented, for it was at this time that Kul Tiras came under siege by Shadowmoon Clan forces. Though they ultimately sought shelter in the orphanage and survived uninjured, Audrey herself refused to speak of this particular day and carried it with her to the grave. It is spoken by some, however, that her son did not feel any emotion toward the children. James's later actions and distance from his mother support this rumor, as he became obsessed with succeeding his father, who had died defending his nation from the orcs. For a time, Audrey paid her vainglorious son's desires no heed, however by his twentieth birthday she had given up and succeeded her remaining family's merchant business to him. Ascending in her years and with more than enough wealth to do with as she pleased, she decided that her son could and would do whatever he wanted, much like her own parents had often done.
Amberbell Orphanage[]
It was no secret that Kul Tiras had been shattered, and now more than ever had the war taken its toll in great numbers. One of Audrey's ladies-in-waiting and personal friends recounted some of these details in her lady's place: Following her husband's demise, Audrey sunk into a deep depression and cared little for her material possessions, as evidenced by her generous donation to her son, who had by now severed all contact with her. Her hair turned from a youthful brown to a highlighted gray in what seemed like mere days, and she grieved the loss of her husband daily in isolation. She did not abandon her faith, however, and it was with the aid of the Light's priesthood that Audrey was one day able to overcome her depression, though she certainly never forgot it, and contemplate how best to help her people, as she believed her husband would have done.
With a heavy heart, the aging Audrey found herself returning to the very orphanage that she had sought shelter in during the orcish onslaught, and the same orphanage where her son had callously dismissed her expectations. She had learned something on that day, though it was not until this point that she fully understood it: these children, ruled over by a greedy charlatan, were neglected. He had escaped suspicion in the attack, and so perhaps it is fortunate that Audrey had not noticed prematurely. This is so because, as her friends recall, the orphans - all of whom she wound up "adopting" - seemed to become their lady's lifeblood and very essence, easing the pain in her heart and allowing her to serve out the remainder of her days with a mother's warmth.
Death[]
The elderly Audrey Douglas sold the mansion she had previously lived in and shared with her husband shortly after the construction of Amberbell Orphanage completed in exchange for a much more accommodating and smaller cottage close by, an act that enraged her youngest daughter, Victoria Douglas. It was by this time that her children were beginning to wonder of their inheritance, and after James had denounced her, Victoria along with the middle child and daughter Olivia began to publicly voice their concern as well. Though Audrey cared for her children, she was upset by their greedy reactions. In fact, it was once overheard in a conversation between Audrey and her two daughters that had they not been so selfish in life, she would have gone back on her decision to sell the mansion. This effectively severed ties with all of her children, who she would continue to write to but never hear back from.
From this point onward, Audrey lived a peaceful existence with a single servant to assist her. The Light had, unlike her children, taught her to be humble with her possessions, and most of her wealth continued to go into the orphanage, a place she visited often in the first few years after its construction. She was frail for her age, however, and sometimes it was whispered that she would refuse to eat. Despite the protests of what few friends she maintained contact with, she calmly insisted that she was in good health. This continued until one unsuspecting morning, she did not awaken from her slumber.
Funeral[]
Though not as grand as her husband's funeral, the body of the deceased Lady Audrey Douglas was lovingly buried at the site of her orphanage, this time along with her husband whose coffin was moved at her request: she wished for him to spend an eternity with her surrounded happily by the children, or so stated the will she left behind. Though most of the matrons had not met her often, the children knew much about her and were remarkably gracious for their good clothing, food, and beds. Her coffin was decorated with their hand-crafted rose wreaths, said to have been her favorite flower when in bloom.
The Fate of Amberbell Orphanage[]
It is troubling, to say the least, that at the time of her demise Audrey did not specify a successor to her lands, including the orphanage she owned. The government of Kul Tiras was in no condition to fund yet another orphanage at this time, however they happily accepted what other land she had owned. Her children, all feeling scorned and abandoned by her supposedly cheap inheritance, dismissed all involvement with Amberbell Orphanage and went their separate ways in life, scrounging what wealth their mother had left them to make a living for themselves. So it was that Kul Tiras assumed this burden, using what wealth Audrey had left and specified for the orphanage to keep it running comfortably for several more years. However, the funds were not everlasting. The orphanage began to deteriorate, food was harder to purchase, and many of the previous matrons left when their payrolls became nonexistent.
The original orphanage does still exist to this day, however it is abandoned. Amberbell Orphanage has since migrated to a much smaller compartment near a harbor in Boralus, able to sustain less than ten children at a time. The sole matron is an aging veteran of the previous orphanage, having met with Lady Douglas several times over the years before her demise, and is a goodhearted woman who proudly hangs the portrait of their lady from the building's hearth. Funds are scarce, however the orphanage is able to survive through donations, and continues to raise orphaned children with a motherly tenderness that would greatly become Lady Audrey Douglas herself.