Annelyse Adair

Annelyse Adair, a character in The Crown & The Flame series, is the Queen of the Gilded City, Aurelia. She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 7.

Appearance
Annelyse has brown eyes, fair skin, and long, black, wavy hair. She is covered in gold, be it silk or jewelry, from head to toe. She has a gold necklace around her neck, a large ruby pendant sewn into her gown, and gold and silver earrings; underneath her dress she wears strapless gold lingerie. Atop her head is a gold and pearl hair accessory resembling a crown.

Personality
Annelyse is usually very positive and optimistic, usually trying to look on the bright side of things during Kenna's journey and offering her help whenever she can. She is incredibly loyal to Kenna, often helping her up when she puts herself down, more so if the player chooses to romance Annelyse. She enjoys the luxuries in life and can be seen as materialistic, as she is used to living in Aurelia. In addition, she emphasizes appropriate appearance for every event; almost every time Kenna changes into a dress is due to Annelyse's suggestion.

She is also very kind and loyal to her friends but cannot understand why people can be so cruel. Annelyse has an air of innocence about her and doesn't understand how people, like Zenobia, could be sadistic enough to enjoy watching people battle for fun to the death, and is unnerved during the gladiator fight. Annelyse's generosity is shown in Book 1, when she gives every soldier in Kenna's army a Golden Mountain Fang, a powerful Aurelian weapon that can cut through virtually anything.

In the final chapter of Book 2, it is revealed Annelyse is somewhat self-conscious about her lack of fighting ability, calling herself weak. Kenna can offer to teach Annelyse to fight or to praise her as a healer. Either choice causes a positive response. In the final chapter of Book 2, it is shown that Annelyse is unused to praise when it doesn't involve her looks. When Kenna comments about how kind-hearted Annelyse is, it moves Annelyse to tears and she tells Kenna that such was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to her.

Due to having been accustomed to the grandeur of Aurelia, Annelyse is a bit airheaded when it comes to similar activities in other kingdoms: while heading to Ducitora, she thought Kenna had a personal hairdresser who accompanies her; while in Lykos, she expected a wine fountain or a five-layered cake in Zenobia's party and, when told by Raydan how Lykos is different, assumed it was only a four-layered cake; and while bargaining with Adder, she thought all compromises were done in exchange for gold.

In the first chapter of Book 3, it is revealed by Azura, Empress of Ducitora that despite her somewhat naive and materialistic personality, she is a fair and generous ruler. Empress Azura reveals that shortly after she became Queen of Aurelia, she practically wiped out poverty in her kingdom. Annelyse is shown to be quite humble, as she downplays her actions, saying she "did what seemed right."

Annelyse is very protective of her people. In Book 3 when it is revealed that Hex is using Dom to attack Aurelia, Annelyse insists on sneaking in through the tunnels to help save as many people as she can. When Hex is caught, Annelyse backhands her and knees her in the stomach as punishment for attacking her people. In the same book, she is also revealed to be very forgiving towards Dom, acknowledging that it was not his fault that he was used to attack her kingdom.

At the end of Book 3, should she marry Kenna, she will talk about how hard and lonely ruling can be and that it means to learn to wear a mask to be able to carry on - while everyone knows about her smiles and her fashion sense, most don't know the person underneath.

Book 1

 * Chapter 7: The Gilded City
 * Chapter 8: The Gilded Cage
 * Chapter 9: The Escape
 * Chapter 10: The Battle for Aurelia
 * Chapter 14: The Foundry
 * Chapter 15: The Return to Stormholt
 * Chapter 18: The Queen of Stormholt

Book 2

 * Chapter 1: The Battle of Thorngate
 * Chapter 2: The Burning of Thorngate (Determinant)
 * Chapter 3: The Shipbuilders
 * Chapter 5: The Uprising
 * Chapter 6: The Foundry Destroyed
 * Chapter 7: The Thieves of Lykos
 * Chapter 8: The Masquerade ball
 * Chapter 9: The Shadow
 * Chapter 10: The Pit Fight
 * Chapter 11: The Nevrakis Handmaiden
 * Chapter 12: The Storming of Lykos
 * Chapter 13: The Wolf's Mouth
 * Chapter 16: The Aftermath

Book 3

 * Chapter 1: The Iron Empire
 * Chapter 3: The Sacrifice
 * Chapter 5: The Uneasy Alliance
 * Chapter 8: The Bitter Reunion
 * Chapter 9: The Last Chance
 * Chapter 13: The Sound of Thunder
 * Chapter 14: The Calm (Mentioned, Determinant)
 * Chapter 15: The Lightning Strikes
 * Chapter 16: The Great Protector
 * Chapter 17: The Fond Farewell

Raydan Lykel
Raydan is one of Annelyse's guards. They are shown to have a strong friendship as Raydan usually stands up for Annelyse during Book 1 when her loyalties are being questioned by Leon.

Val Greaves
Val and Annelyse have a somewhat unusual relationship. While they don't fight Val makes several jabs at Annelyse in Book 2. The two seem to be friendly regardless.

Kenna Rys
Kenna can pursue Annelyse as a love interest based on the player's choices. During Book 1, Chapter 7, the player can choose to sneak off with Annelyse during the party. The two play a game of Two Truths and a Lie in which they share their first kiss. In Book 2, Chapter 3, Annelyse aids Kenna's wounds when she is burned by Dominic. Annelyse usually picks Kenna up when she's feeling down as seen in the final chapter of Book 2, where Kenna questions whether or not she is strong enough to face her people after losing Dominic, Annelyse assures her that she is the strongest person she knows and that she has faith in her. In the same chapter Kenna cheers Annelyse up during the party when she questions her own strength.

Trivia

 * As illustrated in Book 3, Chapter 3, due to having participated in several Aurelian parties, Annelyse has a very high alcohol tolerance. This quality enabled her to outdrink Sei, who is herself a heavy drinker.
 * Annelyse has three crowns: one is located on a stag's head in her drawing room, one is buried in her wardrobe, and the third is thrown into a fountain for being too tight. None are shown, however.
 * She had eaten dragon meat "cooked to perfection".
 * Although she is the Queen of Aurelia, she usually avoids the title and calls herself ruler instead. She rarely makes an exception, one instance being during the wedding vows in Book 3, Chapter 17, should she and Kenna marry. It is only in this case that her name in the infobox changes to "Queen Annelyse" to reflect her title.
 * Annelyse bears some resemblance to actress Dichen Lachman.