Presenting the three Murdock sisters: Vera, Susan and Lily Belle.

These ladies are inspired by not only the sisters on "Downton Abbey", but also by the sisters from "Gone with the Wind", "Pride and Prejudice" and the tale of "Beauty and the Beast". They all start off as the only children of an extremely wealthy merchant named Rupert Murdock and his wife Cordelia, both of whom lavished them all with gifts and affection.

Beautiful Vera is the oldest sister, and in some ways was the son her father never got to have (he did sire a few sons before his daughters, but they were all unfortunate miscarriages). Always the belle of the ball and adorned with jewels on a daily basis, Vera was also one of the most popular ladies in her area, being sought after by many a suitor. This of course led to the rat-girl having a rather high opinion of herself, as you can well imagine.

The second sister, Susan, was not nearly so blessed. Suffering from a case of Middle Child Syndrome, Susan did not receive as much attention from either of her parents as she would have liked. The same went for suitors, who always seemed to chase after prettier Vera first before coming around to her - and even then it always seemed it was because they found Susan's inheritance more attractive than Susan.

Lily Belle was always considered the most beautiful of her sisters, except she was also always too young for suitors (more on that later). While Vera was vain and imperious, and Susan bitter and resentful, Lily Belle was sweet and idealistic. Always offering a kind word to others and hardly ever thinking of herself, Lily Belle was in many ways the greatest treasure the Murdock family had. Even her sisters were fond of her, albeit for different reasons: Susan liked Lily Belle because she never belittled her sister over anything (unlike Vera), and Vera liked Lily Belle because she never wanted anything that Vera had (unlike Susan).

And so, the three maidens lived luxurious, pleasure-filled lives, until one fateful day when their father came home with dreadful news: within the space of an entire morning, all of his ships had sunk and all his factories had burned down. Their entire fortune was gone. The Murdocks were forced to vacate their marvelous mansion and settle in a cottage in a faraway land.

By this time, Vera was 16, Susan 15 and Lilly Belle 13 (hence why she never had any suitors).

Despite their tremendous shock at being reduced to "peasantry" in such a short while, the Murdocks were determined to regain their wealth by any means necessary... which of course meant marrying their daughters off to wealthy gentlerats. Since Vera was not only the oldest but also prettiest (aside from Lily Belle), Rupert and Cordelia focused all their effort into getting her back into high society, doing whatever work they could do in order to make Vera appear to be a wealthy young lady as they pushed her from one party to the next.

Vera was not resentful of this at all, but rather listened eagerly to any advise or instruction her parents had for her, for she had no intention of staying confined in the "prison of destitution". Much to her relief, her own beauty and charm were able to catch the eye of several wealthy gentlerats who had no previous knowledge of her family's financial state, and soon was able to score a proposal from one within a year or so. Desperate to escape the hovel her family occupied, Vera accepted and became Mrs. Cornelius Burneez.

Susan also wanted to attend parties, only to be met by more belittling, not just from her sister but also from her parents; for they all believed she was too plain and boring to attract a husband without a grand fortune behind her. Lily Belle was the only one who encouraged her, and much to the surprise of Vera, Rupert and Cordelia, Susan actually did manage to receive a proposal, which she readily accepted. Her new husband's name was Louis Sanford.

Two years after she married, Vera gave birth to a daughter, and named her Vivian (https://www.furaffinity.net/view/16722170/). A month later, newly-wed Susan gave birth to a daughter of her own, and named her Simone (https://www.furaffinity.net/view/16722325/).

These happy times turned to tragedy when Lily Belle died at the all too young age of 19.

The year following Vivian's birth saw the birth of Vera's second daughter, whom she named Vanessa as a tribute to her favorite sister (whom she affectionately called "Butterfly".)