child_beauty:

Name: Martha Chastity Bessell

Birthday: March 15, 1994

Age: 16

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Dark Brown

Height: 5'2''

Build: Slender and strong

Parents: Father - Ted Bessell
Mother(deceased) - Marina Bessell

Siblings: Mary Constance Bessell (age 6)

Bio:

Martha's father is the pastor of the Evangelical Fire Pilgrim Holiness church in town. It is an ultra-conservative offshoot of the already ultra-conservative Pilgrim Holiness movement. He's a great guy, if you're not his daughter. He does a lot of charitable works, feeding the homeless, food drives, clothing drives.

He preaches for three hours on a Sunday. His two young daughters, Martha and Mary, join in with the singing. Sadly, their mother is gone, and has been for the past four years. It's amazing how close their family is. Picture-perfect, really.

At home, what Father says goes. No matter what it is.

The family has no television, no computer or cell phones. Not even a radio. Magazines, with their worldly values, are not permitted. The only books in the house are the ones he brings in.

The girls go to public school since, as he tells his congregation, "We are called to be light to a lost and dying world." The girls wear long skirts, sneakers, and long sleeved shirts. Their hair is worn long and braided. There is not a piece of jewelry in the house.

Martha plays the mother. She makes all the meals, makes her own clothes and those that her sister wears, and does all the housework. It's never good enough, which earns her beatings. She covers up her younger sister's misdemeanors, which earns her more, and doesn't often fool her father. Mary is frequently spanked.

At night, Martha often plays the mother in more ways than just housekeeping and child rearing.

She stays quiet, in school and at home. She's covered with bruises, but no one ever sees them. Their modest dress helps them stay hidden. And the other things stay hidden, as well.

At school, Martha does not speak unless directly called upon by a teacher, which isn't often. The teachers are uncomfortable around her, as are the other students. It keeps them away from her, and prevents questions, so she doesn't mind. She's a decent student with slightly above average grades. Not that it matters. Her father says that as soon as she's out of school, she'll most likely be getting married.

Martha worries the most about her sister. Somehow, she knows that they're going to have to leave soon, and leave together. Maybe whoever she marries will let Mary come with them.

But till then...she has to stay to take care of her. Martha is the only mother that Mary knows.