Like her mother and grandfather before her, Carmen's childhood was marked by loss and tragedy. Brought to the Courts of Chaos shortly after her mothers death, the newborn Carmen was raised by a courtier named Cu'Runn. Although a good friend of Aife's, Cu'Runn chose to teach her the politics of court and etiquette in lieu of the martial arts in order to spare her the fate of following in her mother's footsteps and seeking vengence. It was in this manner that the daughter of Aife, the trickster of Amber, grew up to be nothing like her parents.

It was not till 18 years later that Carmen made her first appearance in Amber. It was during a visit to Chaos that King Eric showed the family that he truly was his father's son. Falling in love, courting, and proposing in a matter of days(although some accounts in Chaos go a bit differently) Eric swept he young and naive girl off her feet and hastily returned to Amber with their new queen. Carmen has since spent her time getting a feel for her new home and becoming acquainted with the family. It is quietly rumored, however, that those she becomes too acquainted with tend to find themselves running diplomatic missions to Yigg.

In the one family trump card of Carmen she sits on a balcony overlooking the city of Amber. It is night time and the full moon hangs at it's zenith. She is a young woman slender and petite with long silver hair tied in a single long braid. She hold a evening primrose in her hand and the Royal seal of Amber is visible on her finger. Eric explicitly forbids any trumps of Carmen to be made aside from his own out of concern of what others might manipulate her into doing or believing. Caosian trumps do exist, however, from before she came to Amber. In these, she appears as a young woman carved from glass and silver clothed only in her ankle length hair that seems to glow with the color and intensity of burning magnesium. Her head is turned in a shy manner and you can see blood red eyes and a pleasant smile of sharp teeth.