Charas Harp; The Twelfth District

This is the biography of the one, and the only,
Charas Ellefité Harp.

Appearance

At first glance, Charas is rather pretty. Her skin is a beautiful and appealing shade for those who have grown up in the slums of District Twelve; there is no dirt splotches, no ash, no coal resin - only skin. Charas's skin is also extremely silky and smooth, which is a definite turn on for the men she gets her money from. It has been caressed up and down countless times, and she no longer gets that tingly sensation of warm fingertips brushing against her skin.

The next thing you might notice would be her eyes -- those stunning teal irises that defy all that has ever lived in the last remaining District. Teal is a far cry from the typical shades of grey seen throughout the Seam or the Hob, or any other division of the District. Stemming from the top of the eye are long, elegant lashes that bring life to the eyes they belong to - life to those teal beauties that have felt nothing exit their surface for so long.

Charas's lips are the rubicund color of new Sweetbrier roses in the spring. She keeps them quite moist, and is a master at using her mouth to complete most any task at hand. For years she has had practice at using her mouth to do things, and eventually she put that practice to good use. She has done as much with her mouth as she does her hands.

Charas's body is a defining factor of this creature of regal beauty. With curves as voracious and tempting as the devil himself, Charas can attract any man with a mind less than complex. When she walks, her hips flare from side to side like a rough ocean current crashing down onto a jetty [as in, rock barrier.] She is thin, but with enough meat on her bones - more than most of the residents of her District have. Charas has several men to thank for that, really. Without them, she would be living on the street, possibly even dead.

Background

It was a simple day in the season of autumn, almost eighteen years ago now. There were screams; there were tears; there was blood. The screams belonged to Charas's mother, Martella, during labor. The tears belonged to Tizwin as she watched her first and only granddaughter begin her life. And the blood came from Martella, Jacobi Harp - the first child of Martella - and then Thicket Harp. Is this making any sense to you? No? Well, let me give you some background on Thicket, Martella, Jacobi, and Tizwin.

The day that Martella Vertigo first met Thicket Harp was her sixteenth birthday. One month before, her two older brothers and her father had been killed in a mine explosion, leaving her and Tizwin all alone. It was dusk, and Martella had walked by the mines to cry to herself about the deaths of her family members. That's when she saw him - a mysterious looking slightly older boy standing in the mouth of the mine. Martella walked up to him, and asked him what was wrong.

He had lost his father in the explosion, as well.

Martella hugged the boy; and even though she didn't even know his name, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

A few hours later Martella was watching as the boy climbed out of her bedroom window and ran down the street to his house. Nine months later little Niffan Harp was born, and three months later Martella was married to the boy - Thicket Harp. A year and a half later, and Fradrix Harp was born.

The happy couple was just that - happy. Everyone in the Seam thought so highly of them. They had risen out of the clouds of ash billowing around them and came out of the hardships better than before, it seemed.

And that was when Charas Harp was born.
No one in the entire world knew that Thicket Harp was schizophrenic. His original family, of course, knew - but they were long since gone in a fiery grave below. Luckily for the Vertigo family, after the death of his family, Thicket had not experienced a bit of his disease - until, that is, when Charas was born.

Charas came out of Thicket's wife looking exactly like Thicket's mother. The voice that had taunted him returned with a wicked laugh, and took control. Thicket Harp never had another thought, another breather as himself. His schizophrenic side, however, did. He picked up a vase of daisies, and smashed it over Fradrix's head. The boy fell to the ground and was no more. The rest of the family couldn't even scream, but only could stand in fear and shock. Thicket took a shard of broken vase glass and stabbed deep into the neck of Niffan. The brothers were now even more similar than they had ever been before.

Thicket then turned to his wife, vase shard in hand, and lunged at her. However, Tizwin jumped in front of the attack and took the stab wound in her side. She slumped down to the ground, and watched as the man she thought loved her daughter brought death to her. Tizwin's tears streamed out, just wanting to die, wanting to be with the rest of her family, when she remembered Charas. She jumped up and grabbed the baby from her daughter's lap, and ran. In one hand was the baby; in her other, she held her punctured side. Thicket, naturally, attempted to follow her. He chased her out of the building and down the road, and reached within ten feet of her.

But, completely out of the blue, he died. Right there. A simple heartattack was the dying kiss for Thicket Harp, and then he was no more.

For the next eleven years, Tizwin raised Charas. Tizwin was able to support the two thanks to her job assisting the local butcher. Sadly, the lady came down with a horrible sickness that caused her to shake sporadically. She had no control over anything for a while, and so Chaaras had to become a caretaker of sorts.