Emancipation Proclamation by kharizzmatik

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5180793/1/Emancipation_Proclamation

Official Description: Edward grew up in a life of money, power, & respect. Isabella was born into slavery-has never known another way. Their worlds collide & neither will ever be the same again. Will he give her freedom? Can he bear to ever let her go? AU-H OOC *Set in 2005*

–
MF’er says: There has been so much controversy surrounding the plot for this fic and I’ll admit that I was sucked into the hype because of both the bad and the good things people have had to say about what this story contains. I just had to see what it was all about. I have read quite a few stories that contain not so conventional themes and it usually doesn’t bother me, so I decided to give this a try because in my opinion, this is a free country – and if someone wants to write… that’s their prerogative and who am I to judge, right?

A lot of folks have said that the plot is glorifying horrid behavior and that this is being classified as a ‘rapefic’ and while there is rape in the story, it’s most certainly NOT what people assume it to be and I personally want to commend kharizzmatik for bringing up a very real and very serious problem that exists in America and all around the world. A problem that I’ll admit, I might not have paid much attention to if it were not for her writing.

Did you know that according to the National Human Rights Center in Berkeley, California, there are currently about 10,000 forced laborers in the U.S., around one-third of whom are domestic servants and some portion of whom are children? I didn’t either, until I wiki’d what I was reading about and learned just what some of our country’s children are faced with.

You should go check it out, even if you choose not to read the story.

To give you some insight into this fic… Charles Swan is the son of a ‘Master’ who owns Renee. Yes, owns her. She’s a slave. After she’s taken advantage of sexually and becomes pregnant, she gives birth to Bella and is given the right to raise her after Charles’ mother discovers her parentage.

Bella’s life isn’t a charmed one. It’s rough, she’s faced numerous beatings at the hands of Charles’ wife and had to witness more horrible things than any child should ever have to see.

On her sixteenth birthday, she’s sold to Carlisle Cullen. We learn why Carlisle has chosen to purchase her and what her purpose is in their home. His need for secrecy because of his ties to organized crime being the reason why he can’t just hire someone off the street. He needs the security of knowing that someone fears him, that they won’t talk about what they see and hear inside his home.

Bella is given more freedom in their home than she’s ever been given previously and she has absolutely no idea how to behave. They buy her clothes, they allow her to eat, they treat her like a human – something she’s not used to. She can barely read or write and she’s never been around any other men other than Charles and his father so things are a bit bumpy and she has trouble adjusting to the semi freedom of her new life. Carlisle’s sons, Jasper, Emmett and Edward are welcoming to her and they treat her well.

Emmett is his usual boisterous self, Jasper is sweet and caring and Edward is a bit of a prick but before he knows it, he’s gone and fallen in love with her. He feels a connection to her that he’s never felt to anyone else. He tries to get to know the real Bella Rigazza that he’s fallen in love with and we get to see as they both lower their walls and start connecting.

I want to quote one of my favorite parts from E’s point of view… It’s such a huge part of the story for me, that he sees how much they have in common and really starts to figure out just how alike they are:

“The simple fact that she had the guts to stand in front of me and speak the ugly truth had earned her a lot of fucking respect in my eyes.

It was startling exactly how much we had in common when it boiled down to it. Our worlds may be different but they were both hazardous, and neither one of us had a choice in the matter. We were born into them, forced to adapt to the danger. She may not see it, but I know exactly what it’s like to fear having to pay for other people’s mistakes. I know what it’s like to live knowing your life could be ended because of shit that had nothing to do with you.

She may technically only be a 16-year-old child to the eyes of others, but she was a fucking strong woman in my book. When it boiled down to it, she’d be willing to withstand any amount of physical pain to make the emotional torment go away. She’d take a fucking brutal whipping over the agony of being alone. She’d endure any amount of torture if it meant having her mother back.

And I knew exactly what that felt like. And I knew what happened when that emotional torment won, when it wasn’t beaten down and overcome, because I see the fucking product of it every day when I look in a mirror.

I understood her. Sitting there in my bedroom, staring at the small frail girl beaten down by life, I fucking understood her. We may live in separate worlds, but we endured the same mental torture. And I wanted to help her and be there for her, and it was frightening but I didn’t want her to be broken.”

When we start to see below the surface of Edward… you’re going to fall for him, like.. a lot. I promise you.

I will warn you, there are parts that will definitely turn your stomach, break your heart and even make you cry. The OOC of Charlie and Carlisle’s characters, who we’ve grown to see as such lovable father figures was hard to stomach for me personally, but that’s the whole reason I read fic. Writers are free to do what they choose with their characters and I personally think it’s brave for someone to tackle an issue as controversial as this one.

The story truly is original and intriguing and I do hope you’ll give it a chance before you make any assumptions about the content.

Kassiah says: This story has been rec’d to me by so many people and has also been sent in as a story for us to check out through the Fictionators email. OMG. This is one of the most well-written, original storylines that I have ever come across. MafiaPrinceWard totally pwns me, I feel almost guilty at how much I want him. Dolcezza…mmmm.

There has been some controversy with this story, where people have labeled it as a rape fic, so I was hesitant to read it at first. I will say right now, and hope that it is okay, Bella is a witness to rape. It isn’t graphic or detailed, and I really feel that the plot and objective of EP is worth being aware of that situation. With that being said, it also deals with slavery as a result of human trafficking. There is definitely no lack of controversy in this story.

What’s it about? Bella meets Edward when she is sold to his father, Carlisle, who is highly active in the mafia. She basically acts as a maid. Edward is soon smitten with her and has to fight the feelings he is having for the first time in his life. This story is full of mysteries and sweetness and just…ugh, I love it so much!

I love this story for so many reasons, not the least of which is Edward, saying “fuck” all the time and knowing so early on that he loves Bella but is so respectful of her vulnerability, not to mention him speaking Italian all the time. I love that kharizzmatik deals with the emotions of them falling in love and is far more realistic about it than I could ever be. She doesn’t skirt around their stations in life or the issues that both of them have. Trust me, tesoro, you want to check this one out. You’ll be seriously missing out if you don’t.