Description 

An easily flustered yet stalwart Former Undersheriff who joined the New Alexandria Sheriff's Office in January of 1901. Holly Meryll is the type of person who will stop at nothing to protect the ones she cares about, her at times overwhelming sense of altruism and selflessness gets in the way of her own wellbeing.

Her long strawberry blond hair is often in a long braid down her back, though she has been known to unbraid it at times. Her eyes are a rather bright emerald green standing out from behind her glasses. She is often seen wearing dark greens and browns or bright whites.

Early Life 

Holly was born to a family living in Northern England in 1881, her mother was Irish and her father was Scottish. Hopping between homes constantly, her parents could hardly look after her. This caused her to become mostly independent, spending much of her time in forests exploring or in parks playing. Despite functioning mostly by herself, she loved her parents dearly, and when her parents attempted to leave both Holly and her little brother Gideon with their grandparents at a young age, Holly refused. She took to traveling with her parents, sleeping in camps along the sides of roads, staying where ever they can.
Holly loved this life, she would tend to and care for her parents however she could. Unfortunately however this wouldn't last. When Holly was 18 years old, her parents would both contract consumption from a traveller who stayed with them briefly, why Holly didn't contract it, and why she was spared is a mystery to her, but she would spend the next few months of her life doing her best to care and hopefully help her parents recover. They would never recover, and with all cases of consumption, her parents would soon pass.

Devastated, Holly would wander, continuing her lifestyle for almost a year until she saw a newspaper article mentioning a large amount of devastation that had hit the State of New Alexandria, in the wake on a massive hurricane. With her basic medical knowledge and desire to help people, Holly decided this would be a perfect new start, and so she hopped on a boat. To New Alexandria.

Present Life 

Her life in New Alexandria has been an eventful one, full of trials and hardships. When she first arrived she strove to be a doctor, trying her best to respond to doctor calls, unfortunately most of the time the injuries in question would be beyond her abilities as a medic. After a couple months of this, she would have an unfortunate yet unknowingly life changing thing happen to her. She would respond to a doctor call only to be robbed upon arrival, however she wasn't the only person robbed. Here she would meet Mato Kawewe ( at the time known as Jessie Grey ), Mato had also responded to this doctor call and was met with the same unfortunate happening. This one event was what drew her to be a Sheriff's Deputy.

Upon joining the department and becoming a Deputy Recruit, her world changed. Everyday she met new people and became friends with many of them, she was trained by some of the best, such as Elizabeth Ashbrook, Jacob Grey, Tris Chamberlain and many more, most of which she would put her life on the line for multiple times, and even more times would they save hers. She became a deputy January 24th 1901 and quickly took to the job, but even upon becoming a deputy, she was still learning how the world worked making many mistakes along the way, some of which are decisions that still she regrets. On March 15th 1901 she was granted the rank of Senior Deputy by Undersheriff Jean Holt.

Her time as a Senior Deputy wasn't long, however it was full of events that would come to shape the type of person she was. It was during the next few months she would get closer to Mato Kawewe, a woman she had become friends with since being robbed together. Holly would spend a lot of time off duty with Mato, more than she had ever done in the time since becoming a deputy, and this drew Holly even closer to Mato, eventually they would begin dating. Due to Mato being a member of the Yvwi Detlugv ( People of the Trees ), Holly would spend a lot of time around them, eventually being invited to join the tribe by the chief Alasdi Shaw.

There were many defining moments for Holly, but one that stands above the rest is the moment that changed her outlook on the criminals of the world. In the past she believed that nobody, no matter how awful deserved to die. However it would be the death of a friend, Deputy Sarena Lovecraft that changed her view. Sarena was one of the kindest people Holly knew, and she couldn't understand why anyone would harm her. Holly's conclusion was that some of the people in New Alexandria, could hardly be described as people, but a more fitting term would be Monsters, and Monsters deserved to die.

Continuing with her work as a deputy, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Deputy rather quickly, being granted it on May 31st 1901 by Undersheriff John Reid. She has been a Lieutenant since then and has been working hard ever since to gain the trust and respect of the deputies around her. Her goal since becoming a Lieutenant has been to make the NASD a respectable and welcoming place for all people to work. She continues to strive to do this to this day.

3 months would pass, many things would change for Holly: she would get engaged to Mato Kawewe, she would find new enemies in groups like The Fallen and The Ryker Gang, and she would lose people along the way. Eventually on the 5th of September 1901, after a brutal shootout with a group known as The Guppie Gang or more commonly known as The Fish, she would be approached by Sheriff Lorenzo Roussan and offered the position of Undersheriff within the New Alexandria Sheriff's Department, she would accept.

On December 16th of 1901, Holly would step down from her position as Undersheriff, the physical and mental toll of the job had caught up to her and she needed to focus on herself for some time. Only time will tell if she returns to the department she dedicated so much to. She would leave New Alexandria entirely shortly after.

On September 2nd of 1903, Holly would return to New Alexandria, after lengthy time away from her once home, in an attempt to reconnect with old friends, make a new ones, and perhaps once again fight for the safety of New Alexandria.

There are many more things to Holly's story not detailed here, however it is all things she keeps close to herself, and doesn't talk to anyone but those she trusts about.

Affiliations 

The New Alexandria Sheriff's Office ( Former Undersheriff )
Mountain Medical ( Trainee )
Yvwi Detlugv ( Pathfinder )

Quotes 

"If I die protecting these people then, I'd say that's a life well lived"

"If they lay a finger on the hostage... shoot em all"

"A crime is a crime, no matter the victim"

"Sometimes this job catches up with you."

"I shed a lot of blood for this place, maybe I have a little more to give"

Trivia 

The scar on Holly's face came from a shootout, in which she and the criminal she was trying to arrest both hit each other at the same time, rendering them both unconscious simultaneously.