𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬...
"You are my daughter!"
"No, I am your soldier! You raised me to be a soldier. You raised me to fight battles and win wars. That is what I'm doing. You should be proud of what you...
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𝙸𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙳𝙰 𝙸𝚂 𝚂𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽 𝚈𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚂 𝙾𝙻𝙳 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝚂𝙷𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚉𝙴𝚂 𝚂𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂𝙽'𝚃 𝙺𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴. She was the new student in a classroom with families that had known each other for generations, she is the odd one out among the girls, with her naturally tan skin, her dark brown hair and even darker eyes.
That does not deter her. She attempts to make friends. That's what Mr.Ikaris told her to do. "Make friends. Plays some games. Be a child."
She had no idea how to do any of those things but she was a fast learner.
So she observes first, sees a girl walk up to another. Sees how she smiles and sees how the other softens.
A smile.
That should do it, right?
She tries to befriend Sarah McLaggen.
She smiles and sticks out her hand.
"A good handshake is always a good way to start," Ajak says one day while tending horses.
"I'm Imelda," her lips pull up at the corners and she waits for the girl to reciprocate her gesture of kinship. Sarah recoils, frowns and runs away.
Imelda's smile strains.
She doesn't let it deter her. She tries to Befriend Amara Doyle next. She gets the same reaction on this time with an added, "Freak!"
Her smile strains again.
Again and again, she tries. Until she can't try anymore.
Ikaris picks her up with a smile. She reciprocates it. "How was school little one?"
"It was good," she lies.
Ikaris notices but says nothing.
When Imelda walks in the next day, fresh and ready to try again. She hears, "That Imelda girl? She's a freak! Doesn't even have a mum that one! Me mum says that her father isn't even really her father! Maybe that's why she's so messed in the head! Did you see her smile? It was like she was tryin' to eat meh!"
