Character Profile: Triela

The second prototype of the girl assassins (Angelica being the first), Triela's past is even more tragic than the others. A victim of a child smuggling ring in Amsterdam, the girl suffered from a number of rapes, tortures, and mutilations. When she was rescued by her future fratello (meaning sibling in Italian, though here it's used to mean "handler") Hilshire, she was nearly at death's door. After Hilshire was fired from Europol, he was picked up by Italy's Social Welfare Agency, where he became the girl's handler and gave her the name Triela. She lives in a room with Claes, a former assassin, now a test subject on the cybernetics process.

Unlike many of the girls, Triela doesn't receive the usual amount of conditioning as the others, mostly because Hilshire dislikes the conditioning process, as it shortens the girls lifespans. Jean often complains of this. Because of the low conditioning level, Triela is usually more rebellious than either Henrietta or Rico. Hilshire also take more of a 'hands-off' approach to her training, which yields better results.

Triela is an excellent markswoman, as well as a superb hand-to-hand fighter. However, sometimes her proficiency can be effected by menstrual cycles, since most her anatomy is still intact. And earlier in the series, she was irritated by Hilshire's gifts of teddy bears, mostly because he knew little about buying gifts for little girls. However, she copes by being a role model for the other girls, like Henrietta.