BEHIND THE CHARACTERS - EPISODE 07
BEHIND THE CHARACTERS - EPISODE 07
Henrietta Cole: One Rifle, One Dog, and a Heart of Gold
She's the finest sharpshooter in the Three Kingdoms, knows every secret of the wilderness, and can communicate with animals. Henrietta Cole is tough, independent, and not particularly concerned with good manners. But beneath her rugged exterior lies an unexpected tenderness. And that's exactly what I wanted to capture in Polpetta's Two-Step, her song from The Blackrain Session.
Twenty-four meters, twelve centimeters, and six millimeters.
That's the distance separating Henrietta Cole from a particularly unpleasant target. Our huntress checks the humidity, gauges the wind direction, calculates the bullet's trajectory, and takes aim with her Strungman & Foster .403-caliber rifle.
One shot.
Bullseye.
Henrietta doesn't believe in wasting ammunition. Or words. She's a practical woman, accustomed to living outdoors, following tracks invisible to everyone else, and solving problems without calling a meeting to discuss them.
But there's something about this formidable sharpshooter that makes her very different from what you might expect.
Henrietta has a profound love for animals.
And, even more remarkably, animals seem to love her right back.
A Girl from the Woods, Not the Drawing Room
When I created Henrietta, I wanted someone who evoked the women of the American frontier: independent, courageous, accustomed to looking after themselves, and perfectly capable of putting anyone who underestimated them firmly in their place.
Henrietta comes from Florest, a province of the Three Kingdoms famous for its vast forests. She grew up surrounded by nature and went on to build an extraordinary military career. A veteran of the war against the Atzeri, she has received numerous decorations and was appointed First-Class Ranger by Emperor Oswaald IV. She's also the only female combatant ever awarded the Long Eye insignia, an honor recognizing the Empire's finest marksman.
But her most astonishing talent has nothing to do with firearms.
It's called Extended Animal Empathy, a power that allows her to communicate with animals, understand them, and even take their form. She can also enlist their help in her strategies, as when she constructs an elaborate trap with the cooperation of more than a thousand spiders.
A skill that would make any naturalist green with envy.
Henrietta, however, is hardly the elegant, impeccably groomed heroine of conventional adventure stories. She prefers a comfortable military shirt, riding breeches, and a sturdy pair of boots. She has long red hair, magnificent curls, and a rather sharp tongue.
All qualities that, naturally, make her absolutely unbearable to Alita Sanlorant.
Henrietta, Alita, and a Certain Polpetta
The relationship between Henrietta and Alita is one of the contrasts I enjoy most in the novel.
Henrietta considers clothing something you wear to face the world. Alita considers the world a runway on which to display your clothing.
Henrietta has no problem getting her hands dirty. Alita probably considers dirty hands a fundamental violation of the laws of elegance.
Their arguments are frequent, ferocious, and often hilarious.
And yet, beneath this rivalry lies an unexpected connection that neither woman would be particularly eager to acknowledge.
During the mission on Earth, Henrietta tells Alita that her dog recently died. It's a genuine loss, one the huntress struggles to conceal beneath her tough exterior.
Not long afterward, the two discover a statue of a white Bull Terrier named Polpetta.
Alita happens to possess a mysterious substance capable of bringing the dog back to life. She uses it and gives Polpetta to Henrietta as a gift.
It's one of the most touching moments in their story. The formidable sharpshooter, who can face terrifying monsters without flinching, is moved to tears by a little dog wagging his tail and bringing her a ball.
To me, this scene reveals more about Henrietta than any military decoration ever could.
You can be incredibly strong without having to hide your tenderness.
And sometimes even the most insufferable fashion editor can reveal a surprisingly generous heart.
Polpetta's Two-Step: When the Huntress Hits the Dance Floor
For The Blackrain Session, I could have written a song about Henrietta's deadly accuracy, her military exploits, or her extraordinary survival skills.
But I wanted to tell a different story.
I imagined Henrietta far from the battlefield, inside a small-town dance hall, surrounded by the sounds of fiddles, accordions, and boots keeping time on a wooden floor.
An atmosphere inspired by Louisiana, Cajun music, and the folk traditions of the American South.
That image became Polpetta's Two-Step.
In the song, Henrietta arrives wearing a red dress, accompanied by her inseparable Bull Terrier. The music starts, couples take to the floor, and Polpetta wanders between the dancers' legs, sniffing shoes, watching their movements, and silently judging everyone's dancing abilities.
If somebody loses the beat, the dog notices immediately.
If the dancing is good, his tail starts wagging.
Henrietta, naturally, hasn't lost any of her confidence.
One step, chère! That's all I need!
I liked the idea that the same precision Henrietta uses to hit a target could become the effortless grace of her dancing. But more than anything, I wanted the song to express the happiness she's rediscovered through Polpetta.
No battles. No monsters. No impossible missions.
Just music, a wooden dance floor, a red-haired huntress, and a dog who seems to have a better sense of rhythm than the entire orchestra.
Perhaps this is Henrietta Cole at her most authentic.
A woman who has learned to survive under the harshest conditions but still knows how to appreciate life's simplest pleasures.
Fresh air. Freedom. Friendship.
And a white Bull Terrier running toward her with a ball in his mouth.
After everything she's endured fighting Ebenezer Halley's monstrous creatures, I think Henrietta has earned herself a night of dancing.
As long as Alita doesn't insist on choosing her dress.
Listen to Henrietta Cole — Polpetta's Two-Step
A lively Cajun-country track dedicated to Henrietta and her inseparable Bull Terrier, from The Blackrain Session by GNOME RECORDS.
Discover The Seven Magnificent Dwarfs on Amazon
Behind the Characters — Exploring the stories, personalities, and music of the characters from The Seven Magnificent Dwarfs.
Andrea Bigiarini