Character from Pale by Wildbow
The Girl by Candlelight — a complex spirit inhabiting the body of a woman who tried to end her life, whose eyes glow like fire under the Sight and whose preparedness on the night of the murder made her the investigation's first suspect.
Edith James is technically two people: the original Edith, who attempted suicide and whose body survived, and the complex spirit that now inhabits it. This arrangement is exactly as ethically ambiguous as it sounds, and the series doesn't pretend otherwise. The spirit-Edith teaches, sponsors new Others joining Kennet, and enforces proper protocols with the precision of someone who is constitutionally incapable of being casual about rules. She became the first suspect because she was suspiciously prepared when the Carmine Beast died — wearing boots, coat, and hat at her door as if she knew something was about to happen. This advance knowledge, combined with her nature as a spirit in a borrowed body, made her exclusion from council voting both prudent and painful. Her relationship with Matthew anchors her to Kennet's human community. Without him, she's a spirit in a stolen body. With him, she's someone who chose to stay.
Short, wide-hipped, approximately thirty. Bleached blonde hair and bright eyes that glow like fire when viewed with magical Sight. Presents as cautious and proper — the kind of person who enforces protocols because she knows what happens when you don't.
Also known as: Girl by Candlelight, Edith