Background

Early Life: Cynthia was born in Richmond, KY to Marie and Luther Du Bois Jr. She grew up as the only child of the family under enormous pressure as she was expected to inherit the family Horse Track business. Her busy parents seldom had time for their only child so she spent a majority of her childhood being raised by nannies and tutors. The little time she did spend with her parents was as an accessory at high-class dinner parties and being scolded for “acting below her station”. Eventually aged 8 she would be sent to a prestigious boarding school out of state. This environment was to be a testing ground for young elites, harassment and bullying were constant pressures for the children at the academy. Young Cynthia attempted to keep her head down but eventually the wrath of her classmates would bear down on her and make her life miserable. After a particularly savage beating, she resolved to not call home like she usually would and simply took time to observe. For the next year Cynthia’s eyes were constantly trained on her bullies. Watching them restlessly, noting every mannerism, every word and every twitch that betrayed their confidence. Her parents had instilled in her that she was better than others, she set out to prove them right. After a few months when she was once again confronted by her harassers she delivered a verbal beatdown so devastating it was rumoured that one of the girls killed herself afterwards (this is untrue). From that point her world change, she vowed never to lift a finger where she knew words could do the job twice as effectively. The following year she would establish herself as top of the school’s pecking order. She achieved enough academically to keep herself under the school’s radar and used other students to complete her schoolwork to create more free time for herself. Much of her free hours were spent perusing fashion magazines, she found herself enraptured by the clothes and what they represented. Status, Sex, Power and most of all: Control. Pre-Outbreak: Upon graduating the academy, she would attend the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York studying contemporary Fashion. This was much against her parents wishes but they reluctantly funded her passion nonetheless. During her time in New York she neglected her studies to spend time socialising with the New York fashion elite. She felt much more at home than she did in Kentucky. During her time at FIT she would model part-time for various small magazines and agencies. Large, this was not for money but instead for connections, perhaps a bit of personal vanity too. After two years she would drop out of the School feeling she had learnt everything she needed. Cynthia spent a brief stint in Paris learning the language and fashion of the City. In Paris she attended various Fashion Shows and met with designers she’d seen in magazines. She gained an appreciation of fine wine on this extended trip but vowed not to return to the city until she was ready to conquer it. Something that would never come to pass. After returning from Paris, she would enrol in Business management at Harvard. Her parents were pleased with the turn of heel but were much less pleased when she expressed that she wished to start her own fashion house instead of taking over the family Horse Track business. At Harvard she would make even more connections though she missed the social heights of New York City. At Harvard she would firmly establish herself within the New England elite, garnering a reputation for her ruthless business ideas she would share whilst studying. After graduating she would convince her Father to purchase a minor fashion house for her in New York City: the place she’d make home. She quickly began trying to establish a name for herself and her brand in the city’s fashion world, something she did with mixed success. Many suggest she achieved ‘Infamy’ rather than ‘fame’ due to her frequent outbursts at employees and models. Her designs didn’t quite achieve anything new but she seemed to never lack spots at fashion shows or in magazines. Rumours sprouted that she was either bribing or intimidating organisers. By hook or by crook, Cynthia’s fashion empire was slowly rising. She revelled in the flood of dinner invitations and modelling gigs that came over the phone. Her big break finally arrived when she was invited to exhibit her newest line at the September 1999 New York Fashion Week. This is an event however, that would never happen. Post-Outbreak: As the infection worsened, Cynthia flew back to be with her parents in Kentucky. They had a spot in a protected gated community in what would later become Coalition territory. The three hunkered down for years along with other rich families and their chosen “Servants”. It wasn’t long before tensions arose within the community and the Coalition boot pressed on them. The pressures of economically maintaining the group's relative isolation grew and the amount of members seemed unsustainable. Her generally abrasive attitude and refusal of manual labour won her very few friends within the community. The odd clothing repair accompanied by unwanted alterations did little to stem the resentment many felt towards her. Once food supplies dropped she would be first to be kicked out, ahead of even the servants. This event made her burn with bitter rage and destroyed any hope of salvaging her parental relationship, they wouldn’t even look her in the eye as she left. She spent days wandering and running from the errant hordes. Exhausted, she found herself in the Knox County QZ in late 2008 where she would eke out a meager existence. She has since been attempting to climb the social ladder within Kentucky from back at the bottom, forging connections and friendships to help her climb back to the top. Recently she has spotted the talent of one Austrian man named Strauss Albrecht, she intends to help him realise his potential as his girlfriend.