The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Bethany]

Beth winces a little. "I- yeah. My Bitch Face was... It kept me and Carol safe but it... wasn't great. Shan taught me, after the second party were Caro- Carver- was broken to tears and I punched someone."

[Marian Hawke]

"Safe is better than the alternative," she says quickly. "I never.. Mother wrote to me, when Gamlen died. She said not to bother coming home for the funeral. I wasn't surprised, exactly, but I... I was crushed anyway. I just.. I knew I'd never see you again, but I didn't know until then. You know?"

[Bethany]

"I'd planned to find you one day," Beth murmurs, grip tightening a little. "I.... Whether it was going to be an attempt at a reunion or met ripping you apart verbally but... I needed to close that part of my life, one way or another. I'm glad that- I know we've had some fights and such but this is way better than I'd feared it would go. At least you care about us, want to be a part of our lives."

[Marian Hawke]

"Always," she admits. "Did Gamlen tell you... anything? About me? where I'd gone?"

[Bethany]

"He said you got some kind of scholarship to a school in Draslina- well, he did after I made a point of asking him in front of a guest," Beth admits. "He was... really pissed that night but once he'd had to say something, he must have figured it wasn't worth not explaining the full story about your scholarship and how you..." A pause. "I'm a fucking idiot, aren't I?"

[Marian Hawke]

Marian gives a bitter laugh. "There was no scholarship. He just sent me away. Alydrans will teach anyone, even if you can't pay, so he dumped me on a boarding school and didn't send so much as a silver. I had to earn my own pocket money if I wanted anything above food, shelter, education." She pauses, then adds, "In hindsight, I'm not sure I was meant to make it to Draslina, but I've always been tough."

[Bethany]

"Degenerate asshole," Beth growls in orcish, then sighs. "He got so... lost, I guess. I remember when I was younger, how he doted on us, about being his 'Princess Bethany' and... He should never have been rich, I think. Or... I don't know. I hate him for what he did to you and Carver but... a part of me misses and still loves her Sir Gamlen, Knight of Candy."

[Marian Hawke]

"Yeah," says Marian, gently. "He never liked me, not once, but I saw how he was with you. It made me wish I had a father."

[Bethany]

"Probably because he couldn't fool himself about who your dad was," Beth guesses with another sigh. "He was always so..." Her expression turns thoughtful, speculative. "Kind of... territorial, now that I think about it, with Leandra, I men. Like... jealous boyfriend almost."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian bites her lower lip, thinking, before deciding to open up, just a little. "You're not far off," she says, her voice very low, watching Carver.

[Bethany]

"Not far..." Beth's eyes widen and she turns to look at Marian. "Really?" She sounds more intrigued and almost triumphant, as opposed to disgusted or the like. "I mean, I kind of thought about it  few times but Gamlen was always so open about being gay that... Then again, I suppose I'm basically sapphic but Zev gets a pass so... huh."

[Marian Hawke]

"I saw something I shouldn't have -- something I barely remember -- and the next day I was sent away." She shrugs. "Gamlen was in Leandra's bedroom. In his underthings. The rest I sort of pieced together later. It's... well, it's their lives. I wasn't going to judge. I kind of wondered if the both of you were his, really. Your fa-- your stepfather was so much older than Mother, it... wouldn't have surprised me."

[Bethany]

"Huh. That... that is..." Beth wrinkles her nose. "No, we're all three of us full sibs, thank Bastion. And Astea, I guess? I can never remember how that all works, to be honest. I prefer history, local lore and adventure stories. Well, I mean, music and dramas of course too. Anyway. Damn. I just... something that small and ultimately pointless took you away from us? Damn. I mean, I guess if not that, it would have been something but..."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian is quiet for a while, looking at Carver. Finally, she says softly, "It... bothers me, I suppose. That we're all... Father was the only thing my whole life I had that was mine. I used to tell myself stories when I was small, how if he were alive, he'd come rescue me, we'd go on adventures. I used to beg Mother for any scrap of information I could get about him. I used to think, it was okay that Mother loved you more, because Father loved me best, I was his only little girl, so it didn't matter. It... it seems like, if we have to share, then I won't get any. You know? Just like everything else when we were small."

[Bethany]

Bethany's face falls. "I... I guess.. I mean, that makes sense," she says quietly. "I was... I guess it's a lot easier for me to be happy to have that bond with you, when I at least had one sibling this whole time. And... well, you... I talked with Varric some, about the jewels and stuff I grabbed and how much that dream tavern would cost to buy and run and... money is a lot more... I guess I've never really had to think about it much, which is... Well. It's another thing I had that you didn't get and- oh! Oh! Wait right here!" Letting go of Marian's hand, Beth bolts for her room.