The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Varric]

Varric snorts. "Please- with someone as desperate as Zombie Twin? Anyone with half decent con skills could have her asking to sell vital organs in a week if they had even a shed of hope it might help."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene frowns, turning over more of the thoughts. "It seems... yes, it seems that he was preparing her for certain nontraditional sex activities. Which is why she at first assumed what she witnessed was consensual."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian blanches. "I'll kill him," she mutters.

[Varric]

Varric winces. "Fuck. That.. that honestly explains a lot. If you thought that was normal... It goes a long way to explain why she would be so stubborn about accepting Living Twin's assertions of rape. We need to get her talking to some people who can speak on what healthy relationships look like."

[Helene Dakesh]

"Grooming," says Helene, with a nod. "Expecting to be hit, in and out of the bedroom, if she displeases him. Expecting to be led and told what to do. Expecting to have to work hard to please him -- viewing him as a prize she is unworthy of and herself as barely sufficient."

[Marian Hawke]

"But-- she'll be a light!"

[Helene Dakesh]

"Or he will. If they are wed, they can choose which of them takes the seat."

[Varric]

"And if you're convinced he's your only chance at feeling happiness... even love and loyalty start looking like spendable coin. Yeah." He falls silent, glancing at Marian to see how she's handling all this. "Not about titles- like as not, she'd cede it to him in a bid for his approval. Or just because she feels incapable and is trained to letting him have everything."

[Marian Hawke]

"How can she be 'barely acceptable' if she comes with a lighthood," mutters Marian. "That's absurd."

[Helene Dakesh]

"The subject feels she is inadequate as a light candidate," says Helene simply. "She has had many struggles with her family over the subject, and she has often felt incapable of sufficient nobility and femininity to attract a mate."

[Varric]

"Same way that you feel inadequate despite being a fucking genius," Varric says wryly. A beat. "That actually applies to both of you, come to think of it."

[Helene Dakesh]

"This one is well known to be defective," says Helene

[Marian Hawke]

At the same time, Marian protests, "I'm just a bastard, she's the heir."

[Varric]

"Oh for the Love of every Bright God and their Heralds on top. A soon as we get to a big enough town that we can get somewhere to stay and supplies, real supplies, we're all taking that damn test." He jabs a finger at the oracle. "And you. You just talked to you're freaking deity this morning. Alydra Themself took the time to answer your questions. Having a flaw, being different, having a medical condition, none of that makes you lesser. You are not defective."

[Marian Hawke]

"Guys don't marry girls just because they're smart," argues Marian. "They have to be pretty or at least rich."