Intro
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"And though she be but small,
she is fierce."
Emilia's the kind of person who managed to flourish, despite harsh circumstances. Or maybe flourish is the wrong word for it.
An abandoned child, Emilia grew up under government care. She spent time at different facilities that catered to troubled youths, after she was bumped from foster home to foster home. Every family she was sent to, there'd be some kind of problem: even the homes without bitchy wives or creepy husbands, the good ones - Emilia would run away, or get into trouble, or find herself in one disastrous situation or another. When she was sent to a more "reinforced living situation" - she only got worse. Emilia liked getting a rise out of people as a teenager - she'd smoke, she'd drink, anything to get a reaction out of her so-called guardians. It wasn't until she hit sixteen that she finally came face-to-face with her conscience. One of her teachers shook her head, and coldly predicted that, someday, Emilia would end up on a street corner, teetering on heels, or dancing in some strip club. It had been muttered, quietly, and Emilia hadn't been meant to hear, but she had.
It made her angry, at first. Then sad. Then angry again. It was that same spite that suddenly motivated the young woman to actually try. After that, her teachers realized she was not just a smart ass - she was intelligent. She abandoned her old friends, the ones who'd encouraged her to drink and do reckless things at parties: she stopped looking for the validation she'd always wanted. The need was still there, and it was desperate, but Emilia had decided it wouldn't decide her fate.
She always resented her missing parents - whether they were dead or alive, she always told herself she didn't care. But she wondered. What lonely child wouldn't? Emilia constantly wanted to know why she hadn't been good enough, why she'd been left behind and forgotten - why she'd been abandoned. She still had bad habits, but she graduated high school and went to college. She was still a reckless young woman, but she had a good head on her shoulders: her vices were sex and alcohol, and the occasional cigarette when she was feeling...well, like she wanted one. Emilia constantly searched for the validation she craved in sexual partners, so much so that the act itself became almost meaningless - it became more of a habit than anything, and Emilia was blessed with the confident ability to flirt. She was charming, stubborn, and a spitfire when confronted - and constantly tried to hide the sensitivity beneath the surface.
(WIP)
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Gallery
