Venezia di Palazzo, District Six

One of the first things you would notice about Venezia is her eyes. They are very dark brown, almost black. Her thick black lashes may be that naturally, but is more likely that she uses mascara to make them so. In contrast to her dark eyes, her eyebrows seem to be almost too light of a shade. They are a chocolatey brown. Her glossy curls of hair are the same color. Her shoulder-length hair can sometimes appear almost black, just as her eyes do. Though her hair may look very nice and easy to manage, it isn't. It snarls very easily, and does not curl naturally. Those days when Venezia is simply too busy to curl it, it hangs down limply on either side of her face.

Her nose is not one of her most noteworthy features. It is average sized, and rounded at the end, and that's really all that can be said about it. The best thing about her nose is what's underneath it. Her lips. Thye are full and bow shaped, and can often be found with lipstick smeared across them, usually of a red or pink hue. She never wears bright colors on her lips, only soft, dulled peaches and pinks. Occasionally, she will wear darker lipstick, but she is always careful to select a shade that will not be too eye-popping. Her skin is of a naturally tanned shade, inherited from her parents. Whenever she goes walking in town and the sun is out, she carries a lace parasol with her, not to protect her complexion, but to add to her look. Her family was wealthy once, and though they have long since lost their riches, they have not lost their dignity. The members of the di Palazzo family can always be seen wearing fancy - if not a bit old-fashioned - clothes that they can barely afford. They always stand with their backs straight and their heads up, and Venezia is no exception.

She has the long, graceful legs of a dancer, for that is what she is. Or was anyway, before she had achilles tendonitis. Since then, she has been unable to dance, and even walking sometimes pains her. Once, her family would have had enough money to get surgery to correct it completely. But they don't any longer, so she has to do small things to lessen the pain. Ice every day, stretches, shoes with good support, and not nearly so much dancing. In fact, she an hardly dance for twenty minutes without her tendon hurting so badly that she has to stop.

On the surface, Venezia may seem arrogant, as is seen in the way she always turns her nose up at people as if she thinks she's better than them. She talks formally to anyone she doesn't know well, and she's always very polite to everyone, even if they don't deserve it. She won't talk to someone if they look dirty or seem disgusting to her in any way - either in looks or personality. She has an image to maintain, after all. But if you can look past her haughty exterior, you might be able to see more clearly who she is. The only reason she acts so arrogant is because it is how her parents raised her. They always told her not to let anyone see weakness, and to act in a way that will make people believe she is confident in herself and what she can do. The amount of money in her parent's pockets would not define her.

Venezia can be a very kind and caring person when she wants to be. She is fiercely loyal to her friends, and would do anything for them, even if that thing could get her in trouble. Though her face may be stony when she is alone, when she is around her friends, she lets her walls fall down. She allows herself to show emotions, and doesn't hesitate to smile and laugh. She always listens to what her friends have to say, and believes them even when she has reason not to. In her life, trust and loyalty are everything. Without them, she would have nothing. Even if a friend betrayed her in some way - which has happened in the past - she would find a way to forgive them. Everyone has reasons why they do what they do, and she understands that.

One thing that everyone can agree on is that Venezia is a very hard worker. She doesn't give up easily on anything, even the small things. In school, she was one of the top students because she put her best into nearly every assignment. Even when she got achilles tendonitis, she didn't give up dancing right away. It had been her whole life, and she couldn't just let it go so quickly. Even though it hurt her, she danced on stubbornly, refusing to accept that she would one day have to give it up. When she is presented with a problem, she tries her hardest to solve it, even if takes a bit longer than she thought it would.

Venezia was born to the di Palazzo family, which was, at the time, quite wealthy. Her mother owned a successful dance studio, which was located in the space beneath their apartment. Her father was a scientist that developed new medicines, and this brought in a good amount of money. Venezia was taught to dance at a very young age. She grew up in the studio with her mother, watching beautiful young girls learn how to dance. There was an old piano in the studio, which her mother sometimes played while the girls danced. Venezia was taught how to play it when she was five, and though she wasn't very good at first, she never stopped practicing.

The di Palazzo family had a secret, and a rather big one. It would one day be their downfall. They took in wanderers and people that were escaping their districts, housing them until they were ready to move on. When Venezia was very young, only two or three, a pregnant woman stayed with them. There was a secret level below the dance studio, accessible through the floorboards, where the travelers lived. It was there that the woman gave birth to a boy, who she named Tex shortly before she died. Though they had to keep Tex hidden, it didn't stop them from raising the young boy. He and Venezia grew up together, and were always best friends.

As Venezia grew older, she became more skilled in dancing, and in playing the piano. She occasionally tried to make up her own songs, and put words to them, but they never turned out quite right. Tex would help her with the wording sometimes, and it was those pieces that always turned out better. Throughout Venezia's high school career, the family was losing money. Her father just wasn't making as much as he used to, and her mother wasn't getting as many clients. Byt the time Venezia was eighteen, the dance studio closed down for good. Her father boarded up the windows, but did not sell the place or rent it out, knowing someone could find their secret if he did. The upkeep was less after dancing stopped, so they managed to stay afloat. Not long after that, Tex left for no apparent reason. He didn't gove them any warning, just told them one morning that he was leaving. Venezia wasn't sure what he did, or why, but she knew it was him. Two weeks after he left, Peacekeepers stormed her house. They tore up the house, looking for the secret room, which they found. They took Venezia and her parents to the detention center for questioning. Venezia was released a few weeks laterbut she never saw her parents again. She always assumed she was let go because it was her parent's operation, and she had only gone along with it because it was all she knew.

For months, she battled with herself, trying to figure out why Tex had turned her parents in. They'd raised him, and then he'd turned his back on them. One day, she dared to ask a Peacekeeper what had happened to him. He said that Tex had told them about the secret room in exchange for his own freedom. He wanted to live in the open, without hiding, in whatever district he chose. As far as the Peacekeeper knew, that was what had happened. After learning this, Venezia couldn't help but forgive him. She understood why he'd done it, and hated herself for not realizing sooner how jealous he was of her life. When Venezia was twenty, she started up her parent's operation again. She knew the risks, and swore she would not get caught. She would learn from her mother and father's mistakes.