Mab and Lara

[jacenskylo]

So I don’t normally post to the forum because anytime I have an idea or theory somebody beat me to it and that’s fine obviously many of you are much quicker on the uptake than I am. But I was re-reading Peace Talks and Battle Ground and I wanted to put out a theory and see what everybody thought.

Judging by the way Mab and Lara conducted themselves in the last two books does anybody else get the feeling or impression that Mab is grooming Lara to be her successor as the winter queen? I know this sounds crazy but hear me out. We’ve seen in several of the books that white court vampires have difficulty managing their emotions and their appetites but for the most part Lara has always had a pretty good lid on her emotions which would be an asset to winter. Furthermore we’ve also seen with the way that Lara handles and manages the white court is not altogether all that different from the way Mab manages the winter court and that this is why Mab wants to get Dresden and Lara together.

If this theory has already been put out then feel free to ignore this thread but I just wanted to put this out here

[Dina]

I had not thought on that before, but it's a very good idea. It could begin being a replace for Molly (Harry is convinced there is a way to free Molly of her duties)

[whitelaughter]

I think you are on to something, but haven't followed your idea to the logical conclusion. Mab suspected that she would die, so would have planned for it.
She knew that Molly couldn't cope as Queen, warning Dresden to kill Molly: so would have set things up so that Lara would become Lady when Molly was promoted, giving Lara time to get a hang on Winter before the enforced celibacy turned Lara insane - crazy Lara would then be in a position to kill Molly and take the job of Queen.
Mab would only warn Dresden so that he could plan a 'die for a few minutes' trick on Molly, allowing Molly to revert to mortal, and thus be in a position to become Lady again with Lara's promotion.

[Mira]

  That could very well be the plan, but to me if that is her plan, I think it will lead to disaster for everyone.  Perhaps if Mab has a way to kill the Hunger Demon, it could work, especially if it means freeing Molly.  But I cannot see Harry going along with anything less than the two for, or three for, got to include dealing with Thomas's demon as well.  But a vampire Winter Queen?  Mab must be infested if that is her idea.

[StrayDog]

We know that the Fae can impact the Hunger but to what extent? Is it possible for a Whampire to become Winter Lady or Winter Queen? Is it possible for her to go straight to Winter Queen? Mab would certainly have many options in play should she fall in battle one of which could also be for Summer to take over outer gate defense giving Molly time to get prepared, time for Lara to be Winter Lady or Winter Queen, anything really.

[Basil]

This is an interesting thought.

Mab believes that White Court Vampires are "mortal enough" to be vessels for the Fae mantels.  She told Harry that Thomas would be his replacement if Harry didn't play ball.

Also consider that the Winter Mother was able to construct an enchantment that COULD have taken the thirst away from Susan.  Leansidhe was able to quiet the thirst for both Susan and Martin.  Harry immediately realized the implication -- if she could do that, then with some study, the thirst could be eliminated. 

The White Court is every bit as human as the half-turned reds like Susan and Martin. I don't think Lara's hunger would be any obstacle to the Winter Mother, or Mab or even Leansidhe.   

Lara would make a pretty good Winter Queen.  Much better at it than Molly. 

[Arjan]

She believed Thomas was mortal enough because he is in love. Lara is definitely not mortal enough.

[Dina]

I am also wondering if a woman needs to be a virgin when she becomes a Winter Lady or if, even if she isn't, she became a maiden anew after she receives the mantle.

[Avernite]

I am also wondering if a woman needs to be a virgin when she becomes a Winter Lady or if, even if she isn't, she became a maiden anew after she receives the mantle.

While we don't know exactly what happened to Lily pre-SK, the implication seems pretty strong that she just needs to be not-a-mother.

[StrayDog]

While we don't know exactly what happened to Lily pre-SK, the implication seems pretty strong that she just needs to be not-a-mother.

Somehow it seems like Lily and virgin hadn't been used in the same sentence for  a while, tends to support the not-a-mother.

[Rigil Kent]

That's also the Summer Lady. Requirements may be different for Winter Lady.

[Avernite]

That's also the Summer Lady. Requirements may be different for Winter Lady.

Sure, but then our datapoints are Maeve and Molly only. Makes it hard to get any kind of conclusion.

[Dina]

That's also the Summer Lady. Requirements may be different for Winter Lady.

Thanks for proving that I am not the only one thinking that. Given than Summer is associated with fertility, I would think that a virgin Lady may not be a requirement.
But the Winter mantle is asking for virginity, not for non-mother (otherwhise, there are a number of measures that could be taken to allow Molly to have fun without being a mom. In fact, one would expect that the mantle itself would prevent the conception).
One point in favor of virginity happening anew when the girl receives the mantle was that IIRC Sarissa was trying to seduce Harry.  And she was the Lady that Mab had in mind.

[Lehane]

Lily was upset when she became the Summer Lady that her dreams of having a family were gone.

I had originally in SK assumed that it was just the duty of the Summer Lady getting in the way and was kinda confused as to how it couldn't be worked around.

Then the Molly short Story explained it if the Summer/Winter Ladies have the same restriction.

Given the Courts' emphasis on balance I wouldn't bet on there being different restrictions personally.

[Bad Alias]

Jim has said that the Summer Lady's mantle works the same way, but instead of a beating, the potential partner goes to sleep.