Illustration by Natalia Sorokina. Follow her on instagram: @jwitless_art
Eighteen-year-old Fia Aldridge always wanted to be an archaeologist, just like her parents, Anthony and Elizabeth (Tony and Liz). They were killed on an expedition in South America when Fia was thirteen. Fia’s sister Sophie was seventeen and in her second year of A-levels.
For almost a year Sophie fought to gain custody of Fia, but in the UK the minimum age to become a legal guardian is eighteen. Fia spent the year in different foster homes and hated every minute of it. Needless to say, the day of Sophie’s eighteenth birthday, she was granted custody and Fia moved back into their family home, a small flat in London.
Fia and her sister Sophie were named after their grandmother Sofia. Sofia raised Tony alone and died before her granddaughters were born. To honour his mother, Tony and Liz named the girls after Sofia.
Sophie
- Died aged twenty-one.
- Loved cooking and baking.
- Worked for a motorbike delivery service.
- The weirdest thing she ever delivered was a set of glass eyes that the recipient showed her one by one upon delivery, before popping one into an empty eye socket. It was Sophie’s favourite story, and Fia told it at her funeral, along with a story about the time she made cupcakes with salt instead of sugar. The iced treats spelled out “you’re dumped” and Sophie had her colleague hand deliver them to a cheating ex.
Fia
- Taught kickboxing and some MMA by her friend Jo.
- Works in a coffee shop.
- Hates coffee but loves tea, particularly peppermint tea enjoyed whilst reading a good book.
- Often found stargazing in Hampstead Heath.
- Applying to study Ancient History and Archaeology at University. Has always wanted to be an archaeologist as soon as she was old enough to understand what her parents did for a living.
- Has anxiety, particularly social anxiety.
Fia struggles to come to terms with Sophie’s death. In The Angel’s Calling: Daughter of the Phoenix Prequel, Alexander witnesses the accident that takes Sophie’s life, and feels it’s his duty to watch over Fia.
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If you’ve lost someone close to you, know that you don’t have to go through it alone. Cruse provides free bereavement support in the UK.
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